Yesterday I had a deeply upsetting experience at the Clackamas Hobby Lobby.My husband dropped me…read moreoff while he ran to Costco nearby. I came in for seed beads and was carrying a small canvas tote purchased from this Hobby Lobby years ago, which I used as my shopping basket. Since COVID, I've regularly used reusable shopping bags while shopping instead of a basket, a common habit that has never been an issue at this store or any other.Within minutes, a large man began watching me closely, staring intently in my direction. As I wasn't doing anything suspicious or unusual, I continued shopping for beads, wandered through the party decor aisle for ideas for a baby shower I'm hosting next month, looked at floral materials for fall wreaths, and then seasonal decor, placing items in my tote just as I would a shopping basket. Eventually, I exceeded its capacity and picked up a hand basket from the front of the store.As I shopped, the man continued following me, staying nearby and narrating my movements over the phone. Throughout this experience I was never sure whether he actually worked there or was just another shopper with no boundaries. While waiting for my husband to return in the seasonal decor aisle we'd planned to look at together, I overheard the man say he had video of me and that someone should be waiting outside when I left. He'd been talking loudly about my movements for some time, but at that moment there was no more rationalizing it as my imagination. The comment about video took it from unsettling to unsafe. I took his photo too, as I felt openly threatened. When I confronted him, he loudly claimed he had watched me fill my "purse" with merchandise and ordered me to leave the store.For clarity, I was carrying a canvas shopping tote to hold my items in the store and a small crossbody sling bag was my actual purse. I'm posting a photo of the tote and the approximately $45 worth of items I selected so people can judge for themselves. Nothing about my shopping behavior was secretive.Thankfully, my husband arrived during the confrontation and witnessed the interaction.I was so upset that I left the store and went to the truck while he paid for the items I had selected. He wanted me to abandon them, but after all of this I couldn't bear to leave without my trinkets.Afterward, my husband spoke with co-manager Alyssa, who said I had been concealing merchandise in my purse but declined to discuss the situation further because she had not witnessed the incident. The plainclothes security officer refused to provide me his name but later told my husband it was Chris Kelly. My husband tried to explain that this was a training opportunity, but neither seemed receptive.Notably, the uniformed Clackamas Promenade security officer at the front of the store, whom I had spoken with earlier while retrieving a hand basket, apologized to me during the confrontation. While I was attempting to explain what had happened, and my husband was trying to calmly lower the temperature of the conversation, the plainclothes man continued loudly arguing that I had "concealed merchandise" and that "it's a private business." The contrast was striking: the only person who appeared concerned about how I was being treated was not the person accusing me.What bothers me most is not that a misunderstanding may have occurred. It's how it was handled. I was followed for nearly an hour, publicly accused of theft, and treated like a criminal without anyone first attempting a respectful conversation.As a woman shopping alone, the experience was especially unsettling. Being intensely monitored for nearly an hour by a large man felt intimidating and creepy. I was never sure whether he actually worked for the store. By the end of the encounter, I wasn't just humiliated by a false accusation, I genuinely felt unsafe.Despite everything, my husband and I still purchased the approximately $45 in merchandise I had selected. Looking back, I wish we hadn't.This experience ensured I will never shop at this store again. The plainclothes security officer immediately escalated the situation, showed no recognition that he may have misunderstood what he was seeing, and lacked the judgment and professionalism expected in that role. Only the uniformed security officer remained calm and showed concern for how I was being treated.Women shopping alone should be aware of the possibility of this kind of treatment at the Clackamas Hobby Lobby.
