With businesses locking up more and more everyday items in an attempt to combat rampant shoplifting, avid errand runners are fuming that the days of the quick trip to the store are over.
Dr. Emily Long, a plastic surgeon based in Boston, took to social media recently to express her frustrations over having to wait for a long period of time at Target to pick up beauty products that were enclosed behind a glass case.
“The era of Target runs is officially over because tell me why it took me over an hour to buy a single bag of items,” Long stated in a video posted to TikTok that has already snagged 3.5 million views.
“Apparently now my Target locks away essential items,” she said, adding that her body wash, deodorant, and razors were bolted up tight.
She quipped as her camera panned to the rows of items behind a glass container: “Behold the dystopian nightmare that is my Target.”
“I was literally fighting for my life in that store,” Long sighed. “I was so desperate to get out of there, and then when I finally get to the end, there’s a big line.”
The Boston native explained that employees were busy opening the lockers while only one person was manning the registers.
“It literally felt like @target doesn’t even want us to shop there anymore,” she penned in her caption, also putting the hashtags “dystopia” and “end stage capitalism.”
Other angry customers agreed with what Long was saying, also sharing their experiences about how difficult it is to shop at places like Target and CVS nowadays.
“Once they got rid of the snack bar at my target & I was unable browse with my popcorn & drink combo, I was out,” someone wrote in the comments section.
Another disappointed person chimed in: “I don’t even understand because once it’s unlocked and given to customer they can still try to steal it?”
One rolled their eyes: “When something I need is locked up I have always just abandoned my cart and gone somewhere else. I refuse to ask for help to buy deodorant.”
“It’s so sad. I don’t have time to wait for an employee to come unlock the door cabinets. This is why I rarely go into stores to buy regular essential,” another wrote.
“Walgreens is starting to do it too! I give up! I’m back to ordering everything on Amazon, just like I did during lockdown,” an annoyed former fan fumed.