October 25, 2025 at 7:35 am

Woman Told A Stranger At Target She Didn’t Work There, But The Shopper Still Followed Her Around Asking For Help

by Heather Hall

Shopper walking off the escalator at a two story Target store

Unsplash/Reddit

Some people can’t take a hint, even when you tell them straight to their face.

What would you do if someone kept following you around a store, insisting you help them find an item after you’ve already told them you don’t work there?

Would you keep helping to be polite?

Or would you just walk away?

In the following story, one Target shopper encounters this exact situation and eventually opts for the latter.

Here’s what happened.

Cookie lady at Target

This happened last fall. I was wearing a green sweater and black leggings, and it looked nothing like Target’s employee uniform.

One evening, I was looking at the bags of Halloween candy, and a lady came up to me holding her phone, saying, “Excuse me, do you know where these cookies are?”

(She holds up a picture of these white cookies with pumpkins on them)

“Maybe over in the frozen food section? I’m not sure,” I reply.

Apparently, she didn’t hear her the first time.

“Do you know which row?” She says.

“I don’t, sorry, I don’t work here,” I say.

She chuckles and walks away, and I go back to looking at the chocolate and picking out a bag.

A couple of minutes later, she comes back holding up her phone again with the picture. “I didn’t see it,” she says.

“Yeah, I don’t know,” I shrug.

At this point, she had to walk away.

“I really want to find it,” the lady says.

“Sorry, I don’t work here,” I say again, glancing around to see if an employee is walking by. “Maybe you can ask one of the cashiers?”

She then tries to ask me a question about a piece of furniture or a kitchen item.

At this point, I just turn and walk away, walking to a different row further away.

Fortunately, she did not follow and was still muttering to herself in the row.

Wow! No wonder she walked away.

Let’s check out what the people over at Reddit have to say about ladies like this.

For this reader, it reminds her of a dementia patient.

Target 3 1 Woman Told A Stranger At Target She Didn’t Work There, But The Shopper Still Followed Her Around Asking For Help

This is different and actually makes sense.

Target 2 1 Woman Told A Stranger At Target She Didn’t Work There, But The Shopper Still Followed Her Around Asking For Help

Here’s how this reader would’ve handled it.

Target 1 1 Woman Told A Stranger At Target She Didn’t Work There, But The Shopper Still Followed Her Around Asking For Help

It seems that she didn’t.

Target dff37b Woman Told A Stranger At Target She Didn’t Work There, But The Shopper Still Followed Her Around Asking For Help

She needs to get her ears checked because she apparently can’t hear very well.

Heather Hall | Contributing Writer, Life & Drama

Heather Hall is a contributing writer for TwistedSifter specializing in internet culture, workplace conflict, and viral customer service stories. With over a decade of editorial experience in digital publishing, Heather excels at curating trending online discussions and providing insightful commentary on the daily dramas that capture the internet's attention.

Since beginning her career in 2011, she has developed deep expertise in SEO-driven digital content, having written for a wide array of publications covering lifestyle, business, and travel. At TwistedSifter, Heather focuses on synthesizing complex social media threads into engaging, highly readable narratives that highlight the human element of viral news.

When she isn’t analyzing the latest internet discourse, Heather is a dedicated mother of three sons who takes family gaming nights entirely too seriously—whether she is dominating in Mario Kart, exploring The Legend of Zelda, or jumping into Roblox.

Connect with Heather on Facebook and LinkedIn.