Woman gets hired at a lingerie shop, the manager immediately instructs her to scam every customer to boost her incentive: ‘Handed my notice in’
That’s casual theft, not a team-building exercise.
Anyone who has ever worked high-street retail understands the dystopian pressure of corporate incentives. Store managers love to dangle shiny vouchers, bonuses, and pizza parties in exchange for aggressive upselling. But rarely do they go as far in strategizing as this lingerie shop manager.
We’ve all seen managers turn floor staff into desperate hustlers trying to push store credit cards on people who just came in for socks. But usually, they expect you to use standard sales pitches and persistent charm to bump up those commission numbers.
But the general manager at Boux Avenue, where UK creator Emily (@emfandango) briefly worked, allegedly decided that basic consumer protection laws are simply inconvenient roadblocks between her and a regional sales trophy. Emily recounted the absurd memory in a TikTok video that has drawn over 16,000 views. The bizarre scheme eventually ended with her resignation right after holiday rush cleared.
Management allegedly urged staff to deceive customers inside the lingerie shop
Flashing back to her retail days between 2016 and 2018, Emily explained that she had taken a job at British lingerie brand Boux Avenue right before Christmas. While the rest of the seasonal floor staff were temporary hires, Emily had secured a full-time permanent position. However, she secretly had plans to move back to London in the new year.
At the time, the store had reportedly instituted an internal incentive. It was centered around tiny £1 scented drawer sachets designed for underwear storage. The rules of the competition were straightforward. Whichever employee sold the most sachets each week walked away with cash bonuses and shopping vouchers.
But instead of training her team to pitch the £1 add-on honestly at checkout, the general manager allegedly pulled the staff aside to share a brazen shortcut. ”Don’t tell them they cost money,” the manager reportedly instructed, mimicking a conspiratorial whisper.
Allegedly, her advice was that employees should simply slip the scented bag onto the counter scanner without disclosing the charge. She claimed that the customers probably wouldn’t notice since it was only a single pound. “And then you’ll rack up your incentive, won’t you? And then you’ll win the prizes, so that’s what you want, isn’t it?” the manager allegedly told them.
The deception didn’t pay the manager and the store well
Stunned by the directive, Emily immediately pushed back. She pointed out that secretly charging customers for items they didn’t agree to buy was, you know, completely illegal. But the manager waved off the legal concern with breezy arrogance. She claimed that it “didn’t say that anywhere” and insisted that no shopper would ever notice a stray pound on their total.
To this, Emily snapped back, “It’s going to cause me more issues if someone looks at their receipt and goes, ‘What the hell did I pay a pound for that I didn’t agree?’” The manager yet again dismissed her, simply saying, “That doesn’t happen. Do you work on the till all day, every day? Just avoid that.”
Naturally, the manager’s prediction failed immediately. Emily claimed that shoppers spotted the unauthorized charge and constantly came back to dispute it. This left her trapped in an endless cycle of angry returns, forced to absorb furious customer confrontations while her manager hid behind the office door.
Emily was already not on board with the unethical strategy. But having customers march back to the register demanding refunds over a rogue scent packet was all the motivation Emily needed to pull the plug. “I obviously handed my notice in right after Christmas and, yeah, weird manager lady. Weird.” she remarked.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
Follow The Mary Sue:
