I was kicked out of this location at 9:12 am today because I'm not elderly, even though the store website says "Early Shopping for At-Risk Customers: We continue to dedicate the first shopping hour to our at-risk customers, including senior citizens, individuals with pre-existing health conditions, and pregnant women." There were no other visible customers inside the store.
I fall under the at risk category due to chronic asthma and was with a relative who is two days post knee surgery and clearly limping. I realize my risk factor isn't visible so when we were asked to leave because "the first hour is for older customers," I explained to both of the women working that women working that I was still considered at risk because of asthma and my companion was post-surgery. Not once since early shopping hours were implemented have I had to explain my risk factor but I obliged because I didn't want the workers to think we were trying to take advantage. Even after my explanation and asking if my asthma issues didn't also count, we were still asked to leave because we weren't elderly.
Another thing that the women couldn't possibly have known is that we came into the store for two very specific items. And even though I qualify for early shopping based on the store's own website, I would NEVER use those hours to buy bathroom tissue or cleaning wipes or anything that more mature customers might need during those hours, unless I'm shopping for my parents. They both depend on early shopping hours and regularly share stories about visiting other stores, including other Dollar Tree locations, seeing people of all ages enter the stores and be allowed to complete transactions. Because I know that early hours are truly abused in some cases, I would never go in to shop for the things either of my parents have had a hard time finding. Had the women asked, I would have been happy to pass along that information as well.
I will say that after we'd made it back to the car and were planning to drive away, one of the women came outside and motioned us back into the store, as if she were making an exception for us to shop. It was too little, too late in my opinion. With negative images of COVID/Pandemic related incidents playing out in the media and their earlier insistence that we leave the store, there's no way we would have come back in. I'll also say that in my 40+ years on this planet, I've never been kicked out of anything before, especially a store that I consider a staple. Those women never have to worry about seeing me or my business again. read more
