The only reason I'm leaving two stars is because two-stars reviews seem to be harder to get…read moredeleted. If I could give zero stars, I would. I waited almost three weeks to leave this review because I wanted to make sure I wasn't reacting emotionally. Unfortunately, after having time to think about the experience, I'm still extremely disappointed.
The elderly woman working there was very microaggressive toward me throughout the entire interaction. I had called the store ahead of time to ask if I could exchange a pair of scrubs. She was the person who answered the phone and told me that I could. I explained that the tags were in the bag but were no longer attached to the clothes.
When I came into the store, I had the receipt THEY provided me, and she had actually checked me out when I originally purchased the scrubs. I explained that I had tried on two different sizes and asked the employee who was helping me to return one size and keep the other. Unfortunately, I didn't double check that the correct size was placed in my bag, and I openly acknowledged that it was my responsibility to confirm the size before leaving.
Instead of simply helping me resolve the issue, she said, "So it's the other person's fault?" I explained that I never said it was anyone's fault. I was simply explaining what happened.
Then came the bigger issue. Then she claimed they couldn't find my order, despite the fact that I had the receipt. I asked what exactly she meant by that, and she responded that they had been having "a lot of suspicious activity" going on.
That comment was completely unnecessary and extremely uncomfortable. I had purchased the scrubs, had the receipt, and was attempting to exchange an item. I even asked her directly what she was trying to imply because of the way she was speaking to me.
Then, while she was actually processing the exchange, she suddenly said, "Oh, I see. I checked you out."
I said, "Yes, I told you that."
At that point, I honestly wondered if she thought I was lying about that too.
I had already explained what register she was working at and described the people who were working that day. I wasn't giving that information because I thought the register number was necessary for her to find the transaction. I was simply explaining exactly what happened and how I paid for my items.
Her response was, "It doesn't matter what register we were on. I can still pull it up."
Again, that completely missed the point of what I was saying. I was trying to provide information to help explain the transaction, not argue about whether she could locate it by register number.
She also mentioned that she had been in the business for more than 30 years. She said the number, but I forgot. My thought was, if you've been in business for more than 30 years and you're telling customers that "suspicious activity" has been happening frequently, perhaps the store needs to look into whether there is an issue with its inventory or ordering system instead of making customers feel like suspects. Also, she should know which demographic does the most stealing.
Who steals something and then comes back to the same store with a receipt to exchange it..especially when this is their job PREFERRED uniform store. The entire situation simply did not make sense to me.
What bothered me most was the way I was treated. It wasn't just one comment. It was the repeated insinuations, the suspicious tone, and the way I felt like I had to prove that I legitimately purchased something I had a receipt for.
Had I not already purchased the items and been pressed for time, I would have requested a refund and taken my business elsewhere.
I will NEVER step foot in this business again. And as a Black customer, I left that interaction feeling extremely uncomfortable and singled out. I cannot speak for anyone else's experience, but based on mine, I would caution other Black customers and people of color to be mindful of how they may be treated here. Customer service should not make a paying customer feel like they are being accused of stealing when they have a receipt and are simply trying to exchange an item.
