A Victorian woman has been widely praised online after standing up for an Officeworks staff member who was being berated by a customer, in an incident that escalated into a heated exchange in the store’s car park.
Georgia Koik said she intervened after witnessing the customer being unkind to a staff member at Officeworks Maroochydore on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. “I just ran into Officeworks and this old hag was having a go at the person that worked and I was like, ‘There’s no need to speak like that to him,'” Koik said. “She’s like, ‘You need to mind your own business’, and I was like, ‘Yeah, right’ and then walked away.”
According to Koik, the customer then began following her through the car park. “She started to follow me and then I turned around and she was staring at me,” she said. Koik returned to her car and began filming a TikTok video explaining what had happened, when the same shopper drove past in a blue SUV and began confronting her again. “I should have known you’re a southerner,” the woman told her. “Go back to Victoria. F***ing southerners. Register your car in Queensland.” As the woman drove off, she also told Koik to register her driver’s licence in Queensland. Koik simply wished her a good day in response.
The video has since racked up almost 100,000 likes and more than a thousand comments, with many viewers praising Koik for sticking up for the retail worker. “Sticking up for retail workers, may your pillow always be cold and there always be a happy hour at your local,” one commenter wrote. Another, identifying themselves as an Officeworks employee, said: “As an Officeworks worker, I would just like to thank you for taking care of a fellow team member. We cop so much from angry customers because they are having a crap day.” A third added: “Much respect to you for standing up for retail workers.”
