At the Seniors Discount Club, we always enjoy sharing heartwarming stories that bring joy to people's faces. Unfortunately, we have a tale today that took an unexpected turn, leaving shoppers and social media users feeling disappointed and somewhat outraged.

You might have seen a video making its rounds a few weeks ago. It featured Liam Gildea, a Kmart employee, who decided to add a unique twist to his end-of-shift store announcement.

With a charming British accent and the enchanting melody of Vivaldi's classical piece 'Spring', Liam injected a delightful and light-hearted touch into the typically mundane store-closing message.

This video quickly gained traction, amassing nearly 11 million views and leaving viewers in stitches as they marvelled at the creativity of this young Australian musician. You can read more about it here.

However, not everyone appreciated the humour in this situation—especially the higher-ups at Kmart.

After the incident, Gildea received feedback that he had violated Kmart's policies and procedures. Later, he informed his followers that he had made the decision to resign from his position at Kmart due to the incident. Source: Liam Gildea/Tiktok

According to Liam, he had always taken a more creative approach to his store announcements during his tenure at Kmart. 'I've always done those announcements a little bit off script,' he shared.

'There's a little thing written down for employees to just read off of, and I just wanted to have a little bit of fun, change things up a little bit.'

From tweaking the words of the scripted announcement to composing a rap at Christmas time, Liam always found ways to make his job more enjoyable. But it seems his latest creative expression didn't sit too well with the management team at Kmart.

Liam revealed that he was reprimanded for his actions, which Kmart deemed a breach of the store's Standard Operating Procedures and social media policy. He was later told not to make store announcements anymore and to limit his replies to comments on the video.

Disappointed by the company's response, Liam eventually decided to resign from his position.

Check out the full video here:

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This unexpected turn of events has left internet users and Kmart shoppers voicing their dismay at how the situation was handled. Many have left comments on the video, even tagging Kmart Australia's social media account, expressing bafflement at their actions.

As one commenter pointed out: 'How can you fire someone for improving customer relations and making it fun for customers?'

Others chimed in, remarking that this was a missed opportunity for Kmart to embrace a new kind of positive marketing and boost its brand.

'Your content boosted the (Kmart) brand, and now they've just damaged it themselves,' one person wrote.

Key Takeaways

• An Australian Kmart worker, Liam Gildea, became popular for his amusing in-store closing announcement video in which he theatrically announced the store's closing time in a British accent while playing Vivaldi's classical music 'Spring'.
• Liam revealed that despite the positive reception from the public, Kmart did not appreciate his antics and reprimanded him for breaching Standard Operating Procedures and the social media policy.
• After the incident, Liam resigned from his position at Kmart, expressing disappointment with how the situation was handled.
• Many individuals on social media expressed outrage at Kmart's actions and believed it to be a missed opportunity for positive marketing.

While this story may leave us shaking our heads, it serves as a reminder to prioritise empathy, understanding, and kindness—especially when it comes to enjoying one's work.

Here's to hoping that Liam Gildea's next endeavour is met with a more supportive work environment and that large companies like Kmart can find a healthy balance between policy and the human spirit.

What are your thoughts on this story? Do you believe Kmart made the right decision in reprimanding and ultimately causing the resignation of Liam?

Should companies be more open to embracing unique and positive marketing approaches like Liam's? Share your opinions on how companies can balance adhering to policies and fostering a positive work environment.

 

[Catherines]

Bigot? Most of everything is made there. We just can't make it for the price but it's stuff We need, so what are We to do? Do without?

I agree with your comments - our wages are high now and we would not be able to make things here and afford to buy them ourselves. A lot of goods produced overseas at low cost are of lower quality and don’t last - but as the saying goes ‘you get what you pay for’. And we don’t have much choice any more. Perhaps employers and employees would have done better if we’d all thought more about how wages would impact the cost of goods before we all shouted, and kept shouting, for wage rises in years gone by.

I do feel for this young lad who was probably trying to put some humour and fun into customers’ days, and his. I hope another employer sees through this and gives him a good job which will benefit both employer and employee and give him the confidence to enjoy his job.

Bill Mcl you should choose your words more carefully. One can explain feelings without crude words, it’s not that hard.

 

[Lesle]

At the Seniors Discount Club, we always enjoy sharing heartwarming stories that bring joy to people's faces. Unfortunately, we have a tale today that took an unexpected turn, leaving shoppers and social media users feeling disappointed and somewhat outraged.

You might have seen a video making its rounds a few weeks ago. It featured Liam Gildea, a Kmart employee, who decided to add a unique twist to his end-of-shift store announcement.

With a charming British accent and the enchanting melody of Vivaldi's classical piece 'Spring', Liam injected a delightful and light-hearted touch into the typically mundane store-closing message.

This video quickly gained traction, amassing nearly 11 million views and leaving viewers in stitches as they marvelled at the creativity of this young Australian musician. You can read more about it here.

However, not everyone appreciated the humour in this situation—especially the higher-ups at Kmart.

View attachment 22400

After the incident, Gildea received feedback that he had violated Kmart's policies and procedures. Later, he informed his followers that he had made the decision to resign from his position at Kmart due to the incident. Source: Liam Gildea/Tiktok

According to Liam, he had always taken a more creative approach to his store announcements during his tenure at Kmart. 'I've always done those announcements a little bit off script,' he shared.

'There's a little thing written down for employees to just read off of, and I just wanted to have a little bit of fun, change things up a little bit.'

From tweaking the words of the scripted announcement to composing a rap at Christmas time, Liam always found ways to make his job more enjoyable. But it seems his latest creative expression didn't sit too well with the management team at Kmart.

Liam revealed that he was reprimanded for his actions, which Kmart deemed a breach of the store's Standard Operating Procedures and social media policy. He was later told not to make store announcements anymore and to limit his replies to comments on the video.

Disappointed by the company's response, Liam eventually decided to resign from his position.

Check out the full video here:

​

This unexpected turn of events has left internet users and Kmart shoppers voicing their dismay at how the situation was handled. Many have left comments on the video, even tagging Kmart Australia's social media account, expressing bafflement at their actions.

As one commenter pointed out: 'How can you fire someone for improving customer relations and making it fun for customers?'

Others chimed in, remarking that this was a missed opportunity for Kmart to embrace a new kind of positive marketing and boost its brand.

'Your content boosted the (Kmart) brand, and now they've just damaged it themselves,' one person wrote.

Key Takeaways

• An Australian Kmart worker, Liam Gildea, became popular for his amusing in-store closing announcement video in which he theatrically announced the store's closing time in a British accent while playing Vivaldi's classical music 'Spring'.
• Liam revealed that despite the positive reception from the public, Kmart did not appreciate his antics and reprimanded him for breaching Standard Operating Procedures and the social media policy.
• After the incident, Liam resigned from his position at Kmart, expressing disappointment with how the situation was handled.
• Many individuals on social media expressed outrage at Kmart's actions and believed it to be a missed opportunity for positive marketing.

While this story may leave us shaking our heads, it serves as a reminder to prioritise empathy, understanding, and kindness—especially when it comes to enjoying one's work.

Here's to hoping that Liam Gildea's next endeavour is met with a more supportive work environment and that large companies like Kmart can find a healthy balance between policy and the human spirit.

What are your thoughts on this story? Do you believe Kmart made the right decision in reprimanding and ultimately causing the resignation of Liam?

Should companies be more open to embracing unique and positive marketing approaches like Liam's? Share your opinions on how companies can balance adhering to policies and fostering a positive work environment.

I think KMart did the wrong thing by letting him resign, I don’t think he went too far, a little fun on the mike, did it personally hurt anyone, no, so why was KMart getting their nickers in a knot for? I suppose they are owned by China I for one would have love to have been in that store when he was closing.
Good luck in you future employment Liam whatever you decide to do