For shoppers, few things are more irritating than finding an item online, only to be told in-store that it’s “out of stock.” When WalmartIts website said one thing, but store employees said another, a shopper decided to document it in a now-viral video.

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TikTok user @drab.to.dreamy posted the video on Oct. 31 detailing her search for a popular holiday garland at Walmart. After checking the inventory online, he drove 30 minutes to the nearest store that supposedly had it. But when he asked an employee for help, they told him it was out of stock.

Frustrated, she explains, “I’ve worked in customer service before. I worked in retail. I know how crazy it can be, but something that is so frustrating to me is when you ask for a certain product and they say, “Oh, we don’t have it.”

She asked the employee to check again and they finally looked up the item and found the system showed 28 in the back and six on the floor. However, the employee dismissed it, claiming it was “probably just online”.

Unconvinced, @drab.to.dreamy continued to ask for help. Finally, a third Walmart employee took her request seriously and went to look for the garland. The video cuts to her holding the garland, thanking the aid worker she identifies as ‘Steven’ and signing off with: ‘I knew you had them. I knew you had them.”

Walmart shoppers chime in on the video

Since posting, the video has garnered over 96,200 views. In the comments, users had a lot to say.

“Pick up from the store! They will find it and you don’t have to ask anyone for help!” one commenter suggested.

Others sympathized with employees dealing with a chaotic room. “If they’re busy, they don’t have time to go look for it. It’s a whole world out there,” one person wrote.

“I work in retail…it’s annoying when your hand on hand is actually incorrect and the customer still insists you have them, all because it says so online. In-store and online are not the same,” said another.

“I worked in a large store and unfortunately the online inventory is only about 50% accurate,” another noted.

Walmart’s online inventory listings vs. availability in store

Discrepancies between Walmart’s online inventory listings and actual in-store availability have recently been a topic of discussion on Reddit. One post to r/Walmart, one user asked, “Why does the website outright lie about items that are in stock?”

In the post, the user claimed they tried to order items for in-store pickup, only to find that items listed as “in stock” were often unavailable, forcing them to accept expensive replacements.

“Walmart.com in stock is only as reliable as the information in the store’s system,” one Reddit user replied.

“The website is 24 hours behind,” wrote another.

@drab.to.dreamy After persistence, your girl got her garland! The only store 3 hours from me that had it! COME GOOOOO! #walmart #walmartfinds #walmarthall #walmartchristmas #Christmas #christmas decoration #mytexashouse ♬ original sound – drab.to.dreamy

The Daily Dot reached out to Walmart via the media contact form on its website and @drab.to.dreamy via email for comment.

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