New York Man Refunds $500 Target Purchase After Staff Allegedly Humiliates Him: ‘I Was Chased Outside’
He says he felt disrespected.
A man who bought $500 worth of items from Target in the Bronx, New York, claimed staff humiliated him after security allegedly chased him when he was exiting the store. The incident was shared by Michael Gene Jacobs (@michaelgenejacobs) on TikTok, who said the incident left him not knowing who to trust anymore as a Black man.
“Shopping in NYC as a black man is an extreme sport and I’m sick of it,” Jacobs said in his post’s caption. According to Jacobs, he was exiting the Target store with his $500 haul when security supposedly ran after him to ask for his receipt after experiencing issues with his pushcart. “So I was chased out for my receipt after being ignored for five minutes at the door when the buggy f****** stopped working; the employees just stared at me,” Jacobs said in the video.
Jacobs told the store’s manager that he was allegedly “disrespected” and “ignored” from the moment he was paying for his items until he got stuck and was stopped by security. He claimed the store’s employees were “badly trained,” as they supposedly had questionable customer service behavior when Jacobs asked for assistance.
Jacobs says Target staff didn’t assist him
“Everyone here is badly trained. Walking around begging someone to help me, assist me, and they have an attitude for assisting me,” Jacobs said. “They’re upset that they’re at work. Do you get that?”
Jacobs claimed that “everyone wants to embarrass me, humiliate me” when he was trying to get his pushcart to move, yet no one bothered to help him while he was struggling. According to Jacobs, the security guard also hurled insults and allegedly threatened to “beat my a**” and push his cart when the TikToker denied to show his receipt after being chased and initially waiting five minutes.
Jacobs also pointed out the ongoing Target boycott by the Black community and the tensions between them. With his latest shopping experience at the store, he claimed it “proved” to him why he shouldn’t return to Target when shopping for his needs.
In 2025, the Black community began a boycott of Target after the company announced it was scaling back its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, including the promise to expand Black employee representation by 20%, per CNN. Activists and the Black community have reportedly boycotted several other companies that likewise have pulled back from DEI initiatives following a signed executive order by President Donald Trump.
The boycott continues
Although there is an ongoing boycott, Jacobs acknowledged that he “shouldn’t have been” at Target in the first place. However, he alleges it was the only place where he could purchase the items he needed in his area.
Viewers supported Jacobs’ decision to return the items he purchased, saying, “Thank you so much return it all give me back my money.” Others offered the TikToker alternative places he could go to buy his necessities. “We do have Walmart just gotta go to green acres mall area or Long Island fr,” a viewer said.
Some, however, felt no sympathy for his experience as he knew the company was on the community’s boycott list. “Not supposed to be shopping there anyway,” a viewer said. Another wrote, “I don’t feel bad for him. I don’t understand why people are still shopping at target!”
In the end, Jacobs had Target refund all of his items, saying, “You don’t shop where people disrespect you.” He added that he is “striving to get to a lifestyle” where he can learn to trust that his items will be delivered right to his doorstep to avoid encountering similar issues as a Black person.
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