People raise $30,000 for Target employee criticized by angry customer

People are equally terrible and wonderful, and a great example of the latter emerged on Twitter after a Target employee was criticized by an angry customer.

It all began when David Leavitt, a journalist, took to Twitter to reveal that a Target manager wasn't "honoring the price of their items per massachusetts [sic] law."

This was because a toothbrush that typically retails for $89.99 had been advertised for just $0.01.

Thinking that he'd just spotted the bargain of 2020, Leavitt tried to buy the toothbrush - an action which many might describe as chancing his arm - and he was outraged when the manager refused to sell him it for a cent.

He then continued: "I just had to call the police because @target refused to sell me the toothbrush."

However, to avoid a Twitter storm, Leavitt explained that he hadn't called 911, but the police's non-emergency number "and told them it was not an emergency and they could take their time and explained the situation," he wrote.

Levitt explained that he had an officer confirm that the toothbrush was on sale for $0.01, but despite this, he was not allowed to purchase it for its advertised price.

"Corporations like @target are not above the law. The police officer told me they'd testify that they saw the price and that the manager wouldn't sell me the item for the price listed."

"I have not been able to afford to go to a dentist in over three years," he added. "So yes I wanted a good toothbrush and was thrilled to see such an amazing prize on an @OralB but @target refused to honor it and now I have to take them to court."

However, despite telling his story on Twitter to bash Target, it wasn't long before users of the social media website turned on Leavitt and instead directed their sympathy to the manager of the store he visited.

A Twitter user wrote: "Leave the girl out of this and take down her picture. You're a bad person for doing this to her."

People then decided to set up a GoFundMe to send Perrotti on holiday so that she could relax after the ordeal, and it has now raised in excess of $30,000.

Credit: 3623

Now, she has set up a Twitter account to explain to the generous donators that she will be paying their kindness forward.

"It's so often that people will take the picture and make a meme out of it in a mean way," Perrotti told NBC Boston as per the New York Post. "So, it's nice to see there's publicity out of this to support me and my feelings."

This McDonald's manager was attacked by a customer over ketchup: 

In a statement to the Providence Journal, a Target spokesperson responded to the incident.

"At Target, we're grateful for the hard work our team members put in each day to serve our guests in our stores. We're working closely with our store team on this and appreciate the messages of support the team has received from guests."