A small Aussie business owner has broken down in tears after claiming a gesture of goodwill toward a customer ended in a cruel scam.
Jodie Annabelle, who runs the Queensland-based online eyelash extension business NINENINENINE, took to TikTok to share her devastation after a customer demanded a refund over a “disappointing” product.
She said that the disgruntled shopper contacted Ms Annabelle almost two months after receiving her order, claiming the products were “unusable” and that she’s “extremely disappointed with the quality of the lashes as they haven’t met my expectations at all”.
Despite the complaint falling well outside the store’s standard return window, the sympathetic business owner went above and beyond for the woman.
She immediately apologised to the buyer, stating that customer satisfaction was her number one priority, and agreed to process a full refund while covering the return shipping costs.
However, the customer then deployed what should have been a major red flag, crying crocodile tears to secure the cash before the product had even arrived back at the warehouse.
She pleaded for the money to be sent immediately, claiming she was a struggling single mum who desperately needed the cash to buy new lashes for a weekend event.
Ms Annabelle, who felt immense sympathy for the woman, agreed to bend her own strict store rules.
But when the parcel finally arrived back in Queensland, the business owner made a gut-wrenching discovery inside.
“[The customer] literally just sent me back empty boxes, and I’ve already processed her refund,” she said while holding back tears in a viral TikTok video that has racked up nearly 250,000 views.
Holding the empty packaging up to the camera, she revealed the extent of the scam.
“There are literally no lashes left in the packet, the tweezers are gone from the packet, the lash curler box is empty, and the bond and seal are empty,” she told her followers.
The small business owner claimed she was scammed out of more than $100 worth of products.
Hundreds of furious viewers took to the comments to slam the scammer’s shameful behaviour, offering their support to the heartbroken business owner.
“Who does this, it is just disgusting,” one furious user wrote in the comments section.
“Shame on her for scamming you, she knew exactly how to pull at your heart strings with the single mum comment to get you to feel sorry for her,” another wrote.
“I know it’s so hard, but as a business owner you have to push aside sympathy and run by the rules, meaning you must make sure you receive the products first,” a third advised.
The creator said the customer had since “blocked her on Instagram”, and shared that she’s gone to the police over the matter.
News.com.au has reached out to the business owner for comment.