A TikTok appears to show a Dollar Tree customer working the register herself when she can’t find an employee

• A recent TikTok video appears to show a customer working the checkout stand at a store in Tennessee.
• The video appears to show the customer ringing up patrons.
• Dollar stores are facing staffing issues, and many just have one worker on duty at a time.

One Dollar Tree customer appears to have taken matters into her own hands when she couldn’t find an employee to ring up purchases at a store in Tennessee.

A TikTok video posted by user misslate004 appears to show a customer working a checkout stand and scanning items at a Dollar Tree store as other patrons wait in line.

The video was taken at a store in Chatanooga, Tennessee, according to the location tag and a description of the scene in the video.

At first, there appears to be no Dollar Tree employee on duty to ring up the customers, according to the person filming the scene. The TikToker did not respond to Insider’s request for comment.

“You have a customer that has actually figured out how to get into the register, and a customer is actually ringing customers up,” the person filming the video says. “You can’t make this sh*t up.”

Then, the video cuts to another clip, which appears to show a Dollar Tree employee showing up at the register. “A worker just came in,” a customer is overheard saying.

“No, I’ve been here,” someone, presumably the employee, responds.

Dollar Tree did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment on the video. When Insider called the store identified in the TikTok, the person who answered declined to answer any questions.

Staffing issues are a longstanding issue at dollar stores. Dollar General stores are often understaffed, employees told Insider earlier this year.

Short staffing leads to multiple issues. When stores don’t hire or schedule enough workers, Dollar General’s merchandise can block fire exits. Dollar General has been fined for such issues. In one case, a customer said she went shopping at Dollar General stores after the store had closed for the night, but the door had remained unlocked.

Dollar Tree has sold everything in its stores for $1 for years. In 2022, Dollar Tree raised its price to $1.25. This year, Dollar Tree added items that cost up to $5, including frozen and chilled foods. Rival Dollar General has sold items at different price points for years.

Shares of Dollar Tree hit a 52-week low today after the company announced its second-quarter results, which saw a large drop in profit margins. The company said it saw customers shift away from discretionary spending.

Theft has also become a significant problem for the retailer. The company may be forced to take a “very defensive approach to shrink,” CEO Richard Dreiling said during the company’s earnings call.

The company may lock up items or simply stop selling certain items.