4 min readNew DelhiAug 21, 2026 11:00 AM IST

Indian-origin American comedian and author Zarna Garg recently recounted a harrowing experience at a Hermès store in Berlin, where she was trapped inside the bathroom for more than an hour.

Garg documented the ordeal in a video shared on Instagram, showing store staff struggling to open the bathroom’s sliding door. Her daughter filmed the employees’ efforts from outside, while Garg recorded herself from inside.

At one point, Garg says she had already been stuck for more than 20 minutes because the door simply would not slide open. “It is funny that this is happening at a place that is so pernickety about perfection,” she says in the video.

As the wait stretched on, Garg tried to keep the mood light, joking about counting the paper towels in the bathroom and even making origami with them while staff continued working to open the door.

The situation took a more serious turn when the fire department arrived to help. However, even firefighters struggled to open the door, with one of them heard saying that they could not break it open.

After being trapped for more than an hour, Garg was eventually freed. The relief was visible as she stepped out. “Thank God there was no fire,” she said.

Watch the video:

 

‘Shakespearean tragedy’

In the caption accompanying the video, Garg described the experience in greater detail and criticised the store staff for their response. “No apology, no explanation, not a word of comfort was offered. Not even to my kids or team who were watching in horror on the other side,” she wrote.

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“As time went on, we got concerned that they were making no headway and demanded the managers call the Fire Department. The store was adamant that the door needed to be protected! It became clear that we were in a hostile territory,” she added.

Garg said what happened afterwards left her equally upset. According to her, no one apologised or offered an explanation before she left the store after an hour and 20 minutes. “On the way out, an associate pushes a cheap bottle of champagne into my hands. A peace offering? We declined and they closed the door behind us and locked it shut,” she wrote.

She acknowledged that sharing the incident was unusual for her, given the generally positive nature of her social media page. “I write this with conflicted feelings as we’re an adamantly positive page, but this ended so badly with such hostility that we felt compelled to share footage and dialogues of people involved,” she said.

She ended her post with a pointed joke about the luxury brand’s products. “Also, how ironic that the company that makes a bag that is impossible to open and close now has a bathroom door that is impossible to open and close. Shakespearean tragedy but also so authentic. Useless bag, useless door, useless people.”

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The video has since crossed a million views, prompting a strong reaction from viewers. Several users criticised the store’s handling of the incident.

“Oh my God they just slammed the door in your face in the end. I honestly don’t get it why people go head over heels over these rude businesses. Unbelievable,” wrote one.

Another praised Garg and her family for remaining calm throughout the ordeal. “I can’t believe how polite and generous you all were here! Really! At this point it’s not even about them being a luxury store and behaving better, but just the very basics that should be expected!”

“This is top down culture ‘the door is more important than the customer’,” a third user commented.