On 9 January, 2021, at about 1PM, I went to this Rossmann drugstore in Bayreuth to purchase some items. Upon making the purchase and attempting to leave the shop, the sensors at the doorway beeped. I stopped without exiting and caught the eye of the employee who had rung up my purchase.
Now, while errors of this nature can occur, there is no reason why a customer who is clearly cooperating should not be treated in a dignified manner. The clerk crooked her finger and beckoned me like I was a dog. She demanded that I empty the contents of my backpack. Quite nonplussed, I obliged. She took the nail-cutter I had just purchased and presumably desensitized it so that it wouldn't beep again. Satisfied, she let me go, offering no apology. It was the clerk's mistake for not doing the needful before I exited the shop; had she done so, this embarrassing situation could have been avoided.
In situations like this, people of colour always feel unsure of whether the treatment being meted out to them is how employees are generally of if this is the kind of behaviour they reserve for non-white customers.
I suspect the latter and will not be returning to this store. read more
