UNFAIR BUSINESS PRATICES &DISCRIMINATORY!!!RACIAL PROFILING!
Complaint
Christy
Country: United States
On Saturday, Nov.6, 2010 around 4:00pm I went to Value Village in Forest Park, GA.30297. I found three items that I liked; a black jacket, a black Guess purse, and a tan and white Dior purse. I went to the cashier to check out and paid for my purchases using my Debit card and then proceeded to exit the store. As soon as I was walking toward the exit doors, I was immediately stopped by a man at the counter next to the cashier where I just checked out. The man (later identified as Store Manager )told me he needed to see my receipt and the items I just purchased which were clearly seen as the cashier put all my items in a clear trash bag. I immediately opened my purse and handed Store Manager my receipts and opened the bag for him to see my items. He immediately looked at the Dior purse and opened it to locate the price tag and after that he informed me that price was incorrect and told me that I must've "switched" the price tag because that particular bag was just put out earlier that day and he knew the price had to be much higher than the price tag included in the purse which was marked at $4.99 and that "sometimes people do that to get a lower price! I told store manager directly I didn't switch any price tag or do anything having to do with changing a price in which he clearly accused me of, and I asked him why did he stop me in particular as I noticed he didn't stop anyone else to check their receipts or merchandise; he ignored me. I then told him I will file a complaint against him for this and the store and he said "that's fine" as if he could careless.Store manager started talking to other employees near him about the purse and price and he even told an employee to go and "Pull the cashier off her register" even though she was still ringing up other customers. After standing and waiting at the register several minutes, Forest Park police come in; obviously he called the police. The officers speak with the Store Manager first then talked to me to get my side of the story, and II explained to the Officers the store manager stopped me on the way out after I clearly paid for ALL my merchandise and he held me at the counter until the police came claiming I switched out the price tag on a$4.99 purse in which I adamantly denied again to both officers. I even told both Officers to please look at the videotape in the store and clearly they will see I did nothing wrong! After waiting another ten minutes or longer, the cop asked me to go outside and informed me there is NO PROOF of ANY WRONGOING, and the so-called videotape is not even enabled to record such, and no complaints or anything is being filed against me, and that this Value Village in Forest Park is known for thefts. The officer then told me the store manager said I'm banned from returning to that particular Value Village and if I did return I would be arrested! This was an absolute embarrassment to me and harassment this should've been handled differently! In the end after the store manager told me rudely he wouldn’t give me a refund after I demanded a refund of all my purchases after he accused me of changing the price on the Dior purse, another employee walked up to me and told me they refunded my purchase and gave me the receipt for such. Bottom line this store manager is an outright RACIST! He discriminated against me being a black woman and was racially profiling me, and even made an accusation that the cashier and me know each other and the cashier had something to do with it(cashier also Black).The store manager should be terminated immediately! I plan to file additional complaints and take extreme legal action from this until I get satisfaction!If anyone else has had similar issues there please feel free to contact me.
Comments
So,
-The store manager put out a bag for a higher price, and witnessed you purchase the bag with what he suspected to be a different price tag. This is why he stopped you and not any other customers, not because you were black.
-"I told store manager directly I didn't switch any price tag or do anything having to do with changing a price in which he clearly accused me of" Any actual thief would say this line, so that's why he ignored you, not because you're black.
-He did not care if you filed a complaint because it would not make sense when picked a part (much like it is being here,) not because you're black.
-This value village was known for theft. This is why it was handled so aggressively, not because you're black. (also: don't use this to back up your claims when it clearly backs up the store's)
-When he said the cashier could have been in on it, it was because you'd have to be a very horrid employee if you sold items all day and all of the sudden an amazing deal comes along.
I strongly suggest you do not take 'extreme legal action' because as a shopper of value village, you have a low income (not because you're black) just because it's a second hand store, everything is dirt cheap, and lawyers are expensive as [***]. (Maybe because you're black, it's a racist world)
what's going on with other items and other store employees. Meaning why have no gold rings or gold chains been placed in the jewelry glass case, such as was a daily occurrence before the new management took over in the last several years ???