My husband and I went to Robert Marc's store located at 386 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10014, trying to get the glasses around 11 a.m. on March 18, 2023. There were a few people inside when we arrived, including a lady called "Mila." I informed her we were there to see the glass frame because she was the first person I made direct eye contact with. "What?" was her first word to us, and she looked at us as if we were the viruses that were supposed not to walk into the store. Obviously, this was not how we expected to be greeted at the Robert Marc store.
To be honest, it was difficult to swallow her reaction to us at that point. But I politely informed her that we were there to look at frames for myself and my husband, and her response was, "There are frames," pointing to the frames on the wall display without even looking at us, and that was the end of it. I couldn't comprehend how I was being treated at the time. Their display set was not something that anyone could pick up and try; you required help to try them. While I was being insulted, a gentleman named David noticed the predicament and approached us, asking if he could help. We should have left the store after Mila's first act of discrimination and insult, but one of our goals for our trip to NYC was to get the glasses, so we decided to remain and get assistance from David. He was, however, professional and kind. I did complain about Mila's discrimination against us, and he DID NOT DENY IT BECAUSE HE WITNESSED THE WHOLE SITUATION, and he was very apologetic to us. I'm still baffled as to why he tried so hard to apologize to us for something he didn't do. While David was assisting us, Mila remained right next to us, where she observed and overheard our conversation. She knew how angry I was with her. Well, she obviously didn't care and was especially nice and kind to any customer nearby. When she insulted us by saying, "WHAT?" I assumed she was having a bad day and told myself not to judge her, but I was incorrect! She was picking and choosing which customers she wished to deal with! I'm still puzzled as to why she would do such things. Because we were Asian? Because we were the only non-white people in the store?
However, we had spent $2625 with David because of his kindness and promise that we would be taken care of. My husband was also extremely uneasy throughout the experience and left as soon as his glass was selected. I remained with David, making minor adjustments to my new frame. I did inquire about Mila's name (yes, I didn't know her name until then) and told him I'd email your customer service and let them know how she treated us. He told me not to do it just for him and constantly apologized. I'm certain she overheard every one of our talks, even when I was asking for her name in order to file complaints... She obviously didn't give a damn. Just as I was about to leave, a lady with a beautiful doodle came in, and Mila was overjoyed to receive them! In front of me was a person who was friendly, professional, and useful. I felt like we were being handled worse than dogs at the time. I told David that we were clearly worse creatures than dogs to someone who works at your store, and he did not DENY my feelings; instead, he apologized once more.
When I later told my husband that Mila treated a dog better than she treated us, he couldn't take it any longer and called the store to cancel the transaction.
This will be an unforgettable experience of discrimination as a human being. I'm still curious why she treated us that way, whether it was because of our ethnicity, our appearance, or whatever the reason was; no one should be discriminated against for any reason. Mila, if you ever read this, please stop discriminating against people with your judgment. This is not the proper thing to do in life... read more