I never write reviews. In fact, I never had a YELP account before today, however, in the interest of public safety I felt it necessary to share my experience as a warning to other women and mothers who may consider shopping in this store.
On Thursday, July 23d 2015, I wandered into Flatirons (Jarvis St. near St. Lawrence market) to browse while I was out for a walk with my 3 month old baby. Upon entering the store, my stroller wheel came in contact with a metal floor display. The display was not harmed and no merchandise was damaged, however, it was clear my stroller was not going to fit into the store. Obviously annoyed with me, the store clerk advised that I leave my stroller at the front of the store with him while I browse. I opted instead to exit the store. This exchange happened over the course of about 30 seconds and I barely said two words to this man. For some inexplicable reason, he became irate and called me a f****** b**** as I was leaving. He then proceeded to exit the store and chase me down the sidewalk screaming insults. He was infuriated that I refused his offer to watch my baby while I shopped and said "I was trying to help you, you entitled b****". His behaviour was so bad that a number of kind bystanders stopped to assist me and my baby.
I have never experienced anything like this in my life. His reaction was so disproportionate to the incident. I have no idea what set him off.
I am sharing this story to warn other women - especially women with children - that this man has no qualms about verbally abusing a complete stranger, which makes me wonder what else he may be capable of. I didn't even do anything - imagine if a child accidentally broke some merchandise or something.
To be clear, this man never verbally threatened violence, nor did he come in physical contact with me, however, he was screaming at me and insulting me while essentially chasing be down the sidewalk - all in the presence of my 3 month old baby - over a complete non-issue. I felt threatened and intimidated. I fear that under different circumstances, this man could be capable of reacting violently.
This man is ok with verbally berating women. For me, that is reason enough to boycott the store. I also wanted to warn others as I would hate for another woman or mother to experience what I experienced, or god forbid, something worse.
It's a shame because the store looks so friendly and welcoming from the outside, which is what inspired me to enter in the first place. Although I have never set foot into the store prior the above mentioned date, I always believed that it was a nice addition to the neighbourhood. Too bad they have that type of person working there. read more