A small Aussie business owner has broken down in tears after claiming a gesture of goodwill toward a customer ended in a cruel scam.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cdisappointing\u201d product.<\/p>\n
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She said that the disgruntled shopper contacted Ms Annabelle almost two months after receiving her order, claiming the products were \u201cunusable\u201d and that she\u2019s \u201cextremely disappointed with the quality of the lashes as they haven\u2019t met my expectations at all\u201d.<\/p>\n
Despite the complaint falling well outside the store\u2019s standard return window, the sympathetic business owner went above and beyond for the woman.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Ms Annabelle, who felt immense sympathy for the woman, agreed to bend her own strict store rules.<\/p>\n
But when the parcel finally arrived back in Queensland, the business owner made a gut-wrenching discovery inside. <\/p>\n
\u201c[The customer] literally just sent me back empty boxes, and I\u2019ve already processed her refund,\u201d she said while holding back tears in a viral TikTok video <\/a>that has racked up nearly 250,000 views.<\/p>\n Holding the empty packaging up to the camera, she revealed the extent of the scam.<\/p>\n \u201cThere 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,\u201d she told her followers.<\/p>\n The small business owner claimed she was scammed out of more than $100 worth of products.<\/p>\n Hundreds of furious viewers took to the comments to slam the scammer\u2019s shameful behaviour, offering their support to the heartbroken business owner.<\/p>\n \u201cWho does this, it is just disgusting,\u201d one furious user wrote in the comments section.<\/p>\n \u201cShame 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,\u201d another wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cI know it\u2019s 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,\u201d a third advised.<\/p>\n The creator said the customer had since \u201cblocked her on Instagram\u201d, and shared that she\u2019s gone to the police over the matter.<\/p>\n News.com.au has reached out to the business owner for comment.<\/p>\n