Washington, D.C. woman catches H&M staff scrambling after she steps on biohazard. She screams once their story starts changing: ‘how does that work?’

A woman who posts on TikTok as @lipstick_kay shared a video she filmed inside an H&M store in Silver Spring, Maryland. In the clip, she said she had just stepped in a pile that appeared to be human feces and a puddle that appeared to be urine. The video has gained 81,300 views, 77,600 likes, and more than 4,000 comments.

On-screen text in the video reads, “POV: You walked in H&M & leave stepping in human poop & peep”. She pointed the camera at the tiled floor and said, “Look at this s–t that I just stepped in. Literally, literally just stepped in it. Just stepped all in this s–t.” She added that there were “No signs, nothing up to deter traffic” and named the store as “H&M and Silver Spring.”

In the caption, she wrote that she came to shop for back-to-school items, not leave after stepping in what appeared to be human feces and urine. She identified management as Diana and said Diana was not forthcoming with assistance. She stated that her pants and shoes came into contact with what appeared to be biohazardous waste and that the least that could have been done was to replace the damaged clothing and footwear.

Staff arrive with a caution sign after the customer yells about the substance

A staff member later approached carrying a yellow “CAUTION WET FLOOR” sign. The woman said, “I just stepped in this s–t. Why y’all, why y’all ain’t put something up before?” The staff member identified in the caption as Diana replied, “We just came across it.” Unexpected sticky messes in public spaces have been reported elsewhere, such as when a woman took her niece to a McDonald’s playplace. 

The woman disputed that account. She said that when she yelled, another staff member came over, acknowledged the mess, and said they were going to get something out. She pointed to footprints in the wet substance and said, “But nothing was here. I just stepped in it. The footsteps was right there.” Diana repeated, “We just found it.” The woman stated, “No, that’s not accurate. What you’re saying is not accurate. I just stepped in it.”

A second staff member wearing a blue shirt joined Diana. The woman said the other worker had just told her she needed to go get a sign. She then asked, “So how, how does that work? Because I was the only one in this section.” She added that she had been in that area shopping for her son, yelled, and screamed, and that was when a staff member said, “let me grab a sign.” She said no one else had been in that proximity except her child’s father.

The staff member in the blue shirt said there were other things to do in the store. The woman interrupted and said that was not true because another staff member had already said she would grab the sign. She asked how that worker knew what she was yelling about. The staff member in blue replied, “Because a customer just came and told us.”

The woman asked why she had not seen a sign already in place. Diana said, “Because I can’t leave the register and I had to notify her to go in the back and get it.” The woman called the situation an automatic need to go get a sign. Customer-staff disputes over reported hazards are not isolated, as an NYC woman found something in her Danny Coops cheesesteak meal and staff allegedly called her a liar. 

She referred to the substance as biohazards and said staff did not know what type of toxin they were leaving unattended. She asked whether leaving the register should have been the priority once the mess was acknowledged and whether it needed to be attended to right away. She ended the video by saying, “I just stepped in the stuff. Like, what is wrong with y’all?”

In the caption she wrote that she left feeling disappointed, disgusted, and unsupported. She also wrote that she hoped H&M would provide additional training to staff on how to respond to critical incidents, prioritize emergencies, and deliver better customer support when situations like this arise. She stated the experience was unacceptable and that she hoped steps would be taken so it does not happen to anyone else.

Some viewers focused on the staff rather than the mess itself. One commenter wrote, “girl u acting like the worker did it.” Another called the clip a “Great example of misdirected anger.” A third said they would be irritated as both a customer and an employee.

Other commenters said the woman was taking her frustration out on the wrong people. One wrote, “You’re taking it out on the wrong people. They already working in retail and dealing with someone shi**ing on their floor and then they have to deal with you yelling at them over something they couldn’t help. Not their fault you stepped in it while they were getting the sign.” 

Another asked why she was making it a bigger issue and said staff had not come across the mess because they had not walked over there yet. A few commenters questioned the woman’s account. One wrote, “Shopping for outfits, not biohazards.” Another said, “Idk I feel like you did it fr.” A further commenter wrote, “Nahhhh something ain’t right … she would’ve smelled it before anything… she did that.”