A former Sports Direct employee has lifted the lid on some of the secrets of the shop, including how workers are encouraged to upsell the large £2 bags for life over the cheaper 5p ones.
Rebecca Mooney, 24, worked in the high street shop over the summer of 2020 and during her brief stint at the company, she claims she was told to try and push as many £2 bags as possible - even if that meant lying to the customer.
In a video on TikTok, Rebecca suggested that staff at her store were told to inform customers that they didn't have any of the 5p bags available, even though they were hidden underneath the till.
She said: "I was shocked when I first heard. The story about the bags definitely shocked me the most as Sports Direct is the go-to cheaper shop compared to the rest. So people going in and are then having to spend £2 on a bag when it wasn't necessary.
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"The managers even told us each morning how many of these bags were sold and what target we should try and reach if we were on the tills.
"I told my family and friends about this and they were shocked and were like 'So that's why they always say they have ran out of carrier bags'.
"I guarantee if you go in there now and go to pay, they would say they do not have any of the cheaper plastic bags left."
Rebecca, who posts on TikTok under the username @rebeccarosemooney, also claimed that each employee would get 2p commission for every £2 bag they sold, and she was even told in a meeting that it "looks better for the store" if large numbers of the expensive bags were being sold every day.
She added: "Each staff member would get 2p commission if these per bag sold and I was told in a morning meeting that it looks better for their store if they sell more of these bags.
"The other temp staff were young and for some their first job so complied with these rules which is understandable.
"I just gave the 5p ones out the majority of the time but I did feel pressured by the managers to sell the bags."
And what's more, Rebecca alleged that her bosses would rota in an employee on a 24-hours-a-week contract for six four-hour shifts instead of three eight-hour shifts - as this means they don't have to give workers a break.
She said: "They also refused to give people longer shifts which meant hardly any days off.
"Another thing I thought was strange is that before starting the manager got the ladders out which are used to get the stock from high shelves.
"I was not asked to sign any policies or information."
Rebecca's TikTok video has over 13,000 views, and while some commenters said she wasn't lying, others claimed that they haven't had the same experience in the Sports Direct store that they work in.
One person said: "I work at sports direct … she ain’t lying."
But another disagreed, writing: "We aren’t allowed to do that at all at my shop. We offer but never lie or you're out the door."
While someone else commented: "They get a commission for selling the bags! And a lot of other products in the store which they offer you."
"I love those £2 bags", a fourth stated, "so useful."
Sports Direct has been contacted for comment.
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