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Walmart Floorwalker Reveals It’s His Job To Make Sure You See Him. Then He Reveals What Trick He Uses To Make Sure He Catches Your Attention

ear-piece to get in contact (l) man shares a day in the job (c) Walmart storefront (r)

A loss prevention officer, or as the profession is otherwise known online, a “floorwalker,” is a controversial job among customers.

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The way Indeed describes it, a loss prevention officer is a “surveillance and security professional responsible for preventing damage and theft, usually in a retail environment.”

However, shoppers have noted that these workers are often dressed in regular clothing, follow people around the store, and sometimes select suspicious customers in prejudiced ways.

The discourse has led to floorwalker stories and videos turning into a niche topic on TikTok, with these videos often getting millions of views and thousands of comments.

One TikTok creator whose account is fully dedicated to floorwalker stories, @bigbagspenny616, recently took to the platform to share details about his strategies as a floorwalker, a job he says he performs at Walmart. His video has gotten over 4.4 million views.

How Do Walmart Floorwalkers Allegedly Operate?

“I’m a floor walker at Walmart, and today I’m gonna break it down exactly how I move,” the TikToker begins.

According to him, the process starts before a customer even enters the store.

“When you pull in the parking lot, my supervisor already clocked you,” he says.

He claims the supervisor then gives him information about the customer’s appearance through his earpiece.

“And I gotta follow you inside on the way in,” he says.

According to @bigbagspenny616, the goal is not necessarily to stay hidden at first. In fact, he says he wants the customer to notice him walking in.

“This is how I trick the customer into thinking that I just arrived at the store,” he says.

After that, he says, he tries to stay close to the shopper while making it look casual.

“So if you’re checking out the cookies, I guess I’m gonna pick up a pack and look at them, too,” he says. “And we’re probably gonna walk away at the same time, but it’s just a coincidence.”

The TikToker claims he then follows the customer back outside to their car.

He says that puts him in position to get back into his own car and wait for the next customer, so he can make it look like he just arrived at the same time they did.

Does Walmart Hire Floorwalkers?

The closest public-facing version of that job appears to be what Walmart calls an Asset Protection Associate.

According to Indeed, an asset protection associate is “pivotal to safeguarding a company’s assets, merchandise and resources.” Indeed also says the role involves “surveillance and detective work in the prevention of theft and fraud.”

Walmart’s own careers site also lists Asset Protection Associate jobs. However, the public job listings do not mention the kind of plainclothes customer-following tactics @bigbagspenny616 describes in his video.

That said, others have claimed to have worked in similar Walmart roles.

In one Reddit Ask Me Anything (AMA), a user claiming to be a former Walmart asset protection investigator described the role as walking around in plain clothes and catching shoplifters.

When asked whether Walmart hires those workers directly or through a third party, the Reddit user claimed, “Walmart hires them directly, but the job is only posted for internal hires.”

They also claimed they were not allowed to physically restrain people, but were taught “psychological tactics,” including not telling customers they were free to leave and turning off automatic doors so they had to be opened manually.

The user also claimed the most commonly stolen items were flashlights, razors, and makeup.

Viewers Were Suspicious

In the comments, viewers had plenty of thoughts about the TikToker’s alleged strategy.

“Walmart has everything besides tap to pay,” one commenter wrote.

Another viewer questioned the parking lot detail.

“So your boss is profiling people?” they asked

“……minimum wage racist is the actual job description,” a third wrote.

Others questioned whether @bigbagspenny616 was actually a Walmart floorwalker at all.

“He is not a Walmart floor walker if he was, he would’ve been fired for talking about it,” one commenter wrote.

Another person agreed. “He’s literally made so many videos saying he has been fired or can be and they constantly flip,” they wrote. “Hes not a floorwalker.”

That skepticism is worth noting. @bigbagspenny616’s account includes multiple videos in which he claims to be a floorwalker, claims he was fired from a floorwalker position, and films customers in Walmart while claiming they are floorwalkers.

Because of that, there is a good chance these videos are fictional or made for entertainment purposes.

@bigbagspenny616 Im a FLOORWALKER #floorwalker #floorwalkers #secretshopper ♬ original sound – BigBagSpenny

The Mary Sue has reached out to Walmart via contact form and the TikToker via direct message for comment.

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Ljeonida is a reporter and writer with a degree in journalism and communications from the University of Tirana in her native Albania. She has a particular interest in all things digital marketing; she considers herself a copywriter, content producer, SEO specialist, and passionate marketer. Ljeonida is based in Tbilisi, Georgia, and her work can also be found at the Daily Dot.