'Discrimination is unacceptable on every level'

Zia's friends, Sunny Nakra and Prithika Coomaraswamy, were with her when this incident occurred.

Nakra said he feels the discrimination was based on race. He said he is Hindu Punjabi, Coomaraswamy is of Sri Lankan descent and Zia is of Iranian descent. All three of them were born and raised in Canada. He described the cashier as a middle-aged woman of Caucasian descent.

"We were all deeply upset by the disrespectful and discriminatory behaviour of the cashier. This is completely unacceptable, especially from a widely well-reputed corporation like Walmart," he said.

After filing a complaint, the students received an apology from the store manager and the district manager. They were also informed that the cashier was no longer with the company.

"We feel like these are steps in the right direction, but that there is clearly much room for improvement in Walmart’s hiring and training standards. Discrimination is unacceptable on every level," he said. "We are pleased with the action Walmart has taken thus far."

Employee dismissed

The original Facebook post by Zia has been shared online by more than 125 people, with many voicing their disgust in the comments section.

An overwhelming majority of commenters expressed sadness and anger over the incident, while several others called for a boycott of the store.

A few of the commenters questioned if the story was fabricated, claiming the post seemed a little far-fetched or that the students may be looking for attention.

Walmart Canada commented on the post directly, informing those following the thread that the employee was no longer with the company.

Malik confirmed over the phone that the employee had been "dismissed."