A Visalia woman says a routine grocery trip for her restaurant turned into a humiliating experience when she was told she could not purchase a cart full of Hot Cheetos that were on sale.
Gloria Rodriguez says a manager at the Foods Co in Tulare refused to sell the items to her, despite there being no posted purchase limits.
Rodriguez says she is disappointed by how the situation was handled and notes she has bought large quantities of Hot Cheetos before without any issues.
She took her concerns to social media following the incident, where her video quickly went viral.
Visalia business owner says grocery trip turns humiliating after Hot Cheetos dispute.
In the video, Rodriguez says she felt embarrassed during the interaction.
“I’m so embarrassed at this moment, how Miss Juanita treated me, like if I was some type of criminal like I was going to steal the basket and run out with the bag of Cheetos,” she said. “You can do better.”
Rodriguez, the owner of “MzGlow’s Kitchen,” says she began her Friday morning with a grocery run for her business, where Hot Cheetos are a key ingredient in many of her dishes.
“I can’t get into a corporate because they’re going to want me to buy pallets of them, and I don’t have sufficient funds for that,” she said. “So, I figured, let me look at sales and stuff like that.”
But she says the shopping trip took a turn when a store manager approached her cart and questioned her purchase.
“She said, ‘Are you going to purchase all that?’ And I said yeah,” Rodriguez said. “She said there’s a limit, and I told her it doesn’t say that anywhere.”
Rodriguez says she tried to explain her situation but felt she was being interrupted and ultimately denied service.
“I was trying to explain I’ve been here before, I’ve bought your products before,” she said. “She said no, I’m going to refuse your service.”
Rodriguez says the experience left her devastated.
However, she says a worker at a Foods Co location in Hanford saw her video, spoke with her team, and reached out to welcome her business.
“There is no limit,” she says the worker told her, adding that she was invited to shop at the Hanford store.
When she arrived, Rodriguez says a pallet of product was ready and waiting for her.
The contrasting experiences at two stores in the same chain have raised questions about the store’s policies.
FOX26 News visited the Tulare Foods Co location and asked about any purchase limits. A manager on duty said, as far as they know, there is no limit.
We also reached out to Foods Co headquarters for comment but have not yet received a response.