Long story short: Ive been racially profiled at this store and I am never going back in fear for my…read morecomfort and safety.
I went here with my friends this morning. IMPORTANT INFORMATION: i am black (African American) and the group i was with at the time (about 7:30am) was white, I was the only person of color in the store besides ONE of the staff. I made this account just for this review.
I didn't bring my wallet, so I wasn't planning on buying anything, I was with a somewhat small group and some of us were buying snacks. I was just walking with my friends talking when I notice this lady has been in the very front of every isle that i've walked into. At first I thought she was just monitoring our group since we were all teens, and teenagers are known to be bad sometimes when unsupervised. I opened one of the fridges to check out a Monster Energy flavor i haven't seen yet, again, i didn't have my wallet so i simply just put the drink back. That's when this employee told me under her breath "I could play this game all day." I tend to think the best of people, so I assumed it wasn't aimed towards me. We started to play eye-tag for a while, i would look at her and try to smile as friendly as I could, all she did was give me this nasty glare.
At this point i was getting a little uncomfortable, so I went to one of my friends that was near the freezers, seeking their company. There were a few freshmen (2 or 3) that were hanging out with this lady for some reason, she encouraged them to yell at me to "get out", "stop stealing" and "buy something or leave already". I told them that i wasn't buying or stealing anything and I tried my best to void them, I wont hold a grudge on my friends, they couldn't do anything to stop it. Once we got to the register I followed after the group I was in. reminder that they were all white but me. Thats when this lady, white and blue (maybe green) eyed with blond, greyish hair styled in a ponytail, looked about in her 45-50s and had a rude owlish face that will stain my mind forever, she confronted me with the same glare she was giving me from the moment i walked in. She came up close in my face, asking "Where is the Monster you picked up? Show me the Monster." I calmly told her that I had put it back where I picked it up, even taking her to the freezers to show her that all of the Monsters they were safe and sound. It was like dealing with a toddler. She followed me out of the store after that. Told me not to come back ever.
The worst part is, the kids that were out front thought I actually stole something and thought we could bond over it. Showed me their duffle bag that had multiple stolen items in it. They were all white. I am not a suspicious person, I was wearing simple jeans and a short sleeve, I think im pretty welcoming. But i guess i have to be white in order to be seen as completely harmless in this store. This isn't the first time this has happened with her either, I caught her video taping me on her phone a couple months back.