South Carolina woman pulls up for Sam’s Club pickup order. Then staff damages her car and refuses to put manager on phone: ‘what am I supposed to do’

A South Carolina woman said in a TikTok video that a Sam’s Club worker damaged her car while loading a grocery pickup order at a store in Rock Hill. Charlie, who posts as @charliethe1_421, filmed herself standing behind a red Nissan with a temporary paper plate and told viewers the incident was their sign to choose Costco over Sam’s.

She said the employee slammed cases of water into the trunk hard enough to break a hinge. Charlie stated she had three cases of water and had told him everything would not fit in the back. She said she asked him not to put all of it there and that they were only going to put two cases in the trunk. She added that she was grabbing items herself and helping him load.

Charlie said he bent a metal bar that “used to not look like that” and broke the hinge. She stated her dad had already tried to work on it. After closing the trunk, she showed it bouncing and failing to latch, making a loud clunk. She said, “He literally took the water out, slammed it so hard, and he stacked 3 in here, and he shoved it in here.” She pointed to jumper cables, extra clothes, and softball equipment she said she needed to leave in the car.

Sam’s Club later agreed to cover $618 after she spoke with three managers

Charlie said she then called the store and asked to speak with a manager. She claimed one employee picked up and hung up on her. She stated she called three more times and was hung up on each time. She said she went to the auto department, explained what happened, and asked again for a manager. According to her, the person said they would transfer the call, then staff said they could not transfer her and that she needed to call back the next day.

She said she needed to go in the next day to get the car fixed. Charlie told viewers, “So screw Sam’s Club. Anyone listening, get Costco.” She said she was upset because it was her car and she did not think the repair would be cheap.

She added that she did not know how the damage would even be fixed and called it unacceptable. She said she needed the car for work and that she is a college student. She asked, “Like, what am I supposed to do here?”

In a follow-up TikTok video replying to a comment from Timothy, Charlie said there were updates. She stated that she went in, spoke with three managers, and that they were paying for the damage. She said the worker caused $618 in damage by bending her springs and breaking both parts of her latch.

Charlie said she also looked through the comments and received a hate comment. She stated it “just gets crazy” and that the commenter even brought her grandmother into it. She said her grandmother died when she was 4. She added, “I’m like, I’m so happy you have a life.”

She said she was thankful that Sam’s was doing the right thing and paying for it “because like this is insane.” On what happened to the worker, she said she really did not know and did not care. She added that she hoped he was doing okay, but said, “dude, not okay, not okay.” She also warned people who do grocery pickup to “be careful, be very careful.”

Viewers under the video mixed sympathy with advice to go inside or contact corporate, and some questioned why the trunk had not been cleared before the load. One user wrote, “Girl, GO INSIDE. They can’t hang up on you if you are inside. If they try to kick you out, call the police because this employee damaged your vehicle. You may be able to file an insurance claim if you have it.”

Another commenter said they hoped she would go in person. They wrote, “i hope you go in person because that’s disgusting. i’m so sorry this happened.” A third commenter advised her to contact corporate and take photos. They wrote, “Call corporate and take pictures.” The challenges of retail pickup services extend beyond damaged property, as when a Tennessee man had his car towed after Walmart canceled a tire order.

One viewer said the loading was wrong but questioned why the trunk had not been cleared first. They wrote, “Ik that’s wrong but why the hell you going to do an order pick up and not have your trunk cleaned? I’ve never worked for Sam’s but I’ve worked for other companies and was told to never stack merchandise on personal property.” Customer service disputes at big-box retailers can escalate, as a Tennessee woman waited two hours for her Walmart pickup order only to be cursed at by an employee.

Another commenter said they always get out of the car when staff arrives. They wrote, “For this exact reason this is why I always get out when they arrive to my car. You can’t trust no one.” One person said a repair might not cost much but that she should not have to pay. They wrote, “it technically would be very cheap but it’s not your fault amd you shouldn’t pay for it.”