I wish there was a zero star rating for this location, due to my experience in or around May/June of this year (2020)..
It appeared to be new store opening at this location, which I was excited for, as it was closer to my home.
However, I didn't get to see much of the store as a first time customer.
The store hours indicated that they closed at 8pm. I made the mistake of arriving ten minutes to closing..
I walked inside w/ other customers at 7:50pm.
A store clerk advised us to be done shopping and to be ready w/ our purchases at the register by 7:55pm, to which we all agreed. I kindly thanked her and assured her that I'd be quick, as I was only there for one item.
As the other customers vanished into the aisles ahead of me, another store clerk stops me and orders me to leave, advising me that they're closing at that moment. I pointed out to her that it was still ten minutes to closing, there was a small line at the registers, other shoppers in the store aisles, and a few other shoppers that were allowed in with me just a few steps ahead of me by her colleague who she had not ordered to leave. The tactful and customer-friendly thing for her to do at that moment was to disallow anyone else to enter the store behind me; not to kick a random customer out on a whim and out of her clear eagerness to wrap the business up.
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The only clear difference I saw between myself and the customers allowed inside with me but that were not asked to leave was in our ethnicities and that I was of a darker hue than the other customers. I was black, the cashiers were latino (or hispanic as some call them), and the customers they allowed in were all white (or caucasian). It was apparent that the latino/hispanic cashier felt more comfortable in kicking the one black person out of her store than approaching the handful of white people that were allowed in with me. The cashiers appeared to be in their 20's or late 30's while we (the customers) appeared to be 40 and up. In the meantime, I was completely throughout my encounter with everyone I saw that day and underserving of this unwelcomed treatment. Some of the cashiers need to also have some racial sensitivity training, be reminded that there is no racial hierarchy in this society, and that if the cashier's choice of giving me the cut-off speech over the white people walked in with was racially motivated , it should be taught that Latinos should carry more respect for African Americans given their closer relationship to each other than the group that was catered to on this particular evening.
I have been completely respectful towards the clerks and the space within the store, so there was no other obvious reason that I could see why I was singled out to be told that I had arrived too late to shop while other people were allowed to enter the store along-side me, other than an obvious difference in my ethnicity and skin tone from the clerks and the other customers. It is possible that the clerk wished to tell the other customers the same, but did not feel as comfortable insulting them in the same was as she had clearly insulted me.
I told her my concerns about there being ten minutes left before closing and that other people were still in the store, and the store rep was clearly unconcerned about the fairness issue and remained adamant with her demand. I could have called a manager on the matter, but I am not in the practice of begging people or businesses to take my money, so I left w/ no further argument.
This was my first time in the store. It will be my last because of the insulting and unwelcoming experience. All I wanted was a few toiletries that day. It was worth it to spend the extra dime in nearby stores that welcomed my business. read more