How a Dollar General Employee Went Viral on TikTok
There’s more to food loyalty than a few dollars and a box of donuts.
“I have no idea what they did to me,” one customer tells me. “You put me in a grocery cart where all I’m supposed to do is pay for my groceries and get my meal. This is not right.”
I’m at a Dollar General near my home, near my office in Arlington, VA, which makes me a very convenient customer. It’s a place where you have to swipe your debit card, which will then be charged to your bank account. You don’t have to give the clerk your PIN because they know your card numbers and what to do with it. We’ll get into the details of the day later. For now, we’re just focusing on what this customer told me.
This customer found her name and picture on TikTok. And because she followed the instructions and searched for a Dollar General near her home, she was able to see her picture on screen, along with the reaction of her fellow TikTok viewers.
“Now I know what he was thinking,” she says.
“Now I know what he was thinking?” I ask her. “You’re looking at me like I don’t know what he was thinking.”
“I don’t know why I said that,” I say. “It’s okay.”
I look at my face in the big wall mirror above the coffee station. I am one of the cleanest girls in the entire world. I have a smooth, bleached skin; a straight nose and a mouth that is the perfect shade of pink.
When I’m going to school, I wear black lipstick and no more foundation than my face.
When