Enter at own risk! Serious warning after a terrifying experience…read more
I've gone to Triple Play for Magic cards for a while. One employee, a large pale man with dark circles under his eyes, has always been unnerving and creepy. He'd always stare at me as soon as I entered the store and follow me uncomfortably close. When visiting the store with friends, they confirmed seeing the behaviour, but hadn't themselves experienced this degree of scrutiny, nor did they see this directed towards most other customers. The only visual difference between myself and my friends, and the customers he didn't leer at, as much as it pains me to say, seems to be that I have dark skin, and they do not.
Recently, I visited Triple Play because a friend wanted to buy a card for me. I removed the card from a binder and held it carefully in one hand. I bent over to look at some other merchandise and suddenly, the creepy employee asked me, in front of everyone in the store and quite loudly, if I had stolen something. I said no, then he demanded that I show him my pockets. I thought maybe my phone looked suspicious, so I took that out and he just demanded that I show him my pockets again. I removed the contents of my pocket and he repeated himself, so I awkwardly held everything in my hand while trying to expose the actual pocket. He wanted me to do the same with the other pocket; due to my hands being full and trying to fulfil his request, I accidentally dropped everything on to the floor. I managed to gather my items, show him my other pocket, and handed him the contents and the card my friend was going to buy (the one from my hand). The whole time, I was terrified. The last time I'd been accused of stealing was in the United States, which resulted in a hospital stay after the police got involved (even though they admitted I didn't steal anything afterwards). After that experience, all I wanted to do was get out of the store safely; I didn't dare to try and risk explaining anything to him, as I know what can happen if you try and speak up.
Smugly, he said that two of the cards had Triple Play's price stickers on them and asked me to leave the store. It's obvious that the card my friend was going to buy for me had a price sticker on it; I was holding it to buy. My friend had given the other card to me after trading earlier in the day. It was an inexpensive card still in the original sleeve because she hadn't used it after buying a while ago. So, Triple Play essentially stole what she bought from them. It's also worth mentioning that there was a white couple in the store at the same time as me going through dozens of cards, taking them out of binders, holding them, sorting, stacking them, and the creepy employee never leered at them or hovered, just with me.
My friend was extremely confused during the encounter and says she saw the card that she was going to buy for me in my hand while the employee was accusing me (she was in the best position to see it). She just didn't know that he was accusing me of taking that specific card until later.
It's awful having people judge you because of your appearance. I thought it was a good idea to buy local whenever possible, even though Magic products online are much cheaper, and all it got me was the ire of a bigoted employee. Shame on me for trying to support local businesses, I guess.
Initially, I wasn't going to say anything about my experience, as I was too scared to make an issue out of the situation; it was at my friends' urging that I do so. I'm sure many 5-star reviews around the web for this store are genuine, but that'd make sense considering that most customers are white, in combination with the other employees, who seem to be decent. However, I suggest finding somewhere else to shop, like the other game store in the city. I like to believe most people wouldn't support a store that hires employees who take pleasure in hurting others. But, if that's something you agree with, then you've certainly found the right place to shop.
