Saturday morning, I attempted to check out at the self-serve register, as I have done many times…read more(weekly) over the last six years. I had two separate transactions to make. I rang up the first transaction, before I could even put the first item in the bag, the cashier, Karen, rushed over, "Are you planning to pay for those items? You didn't ring everything up." I explained that I was making two separate transactions and that she should have waited until a theft actually occurred before accusing me of a crime/stealing. Karen, with her tail tucked between her legs walked way and mumbled a slight apology!
From the start, Karen had a razor-sharp fixation on me from the moment I entered the self-checkout line. Security cameras are everywhere, so why would I steal a jar of honey when Karen was already breathing down my neck as I was ringing up my items? Words were exchanged, and she called for a manager.
Meanwhile, an employee named Bozo, who was not even on the scene when Karen accused me of stealing, adamantly stated, "She didn't accuse you of stealing!" He automatically took her side without knowing what had happened. Bozo, who claimed to be a manager, had a smug, nonchalant, and accusatory disposition, making him extremely unprofessional. A manager? How? He knows nothing about conflict resolution, has no training in de-escalation, and only added fuel to the fire. As a manager, Bozo should have remained neutral until all the facts were presented. Instead, he called in more reinforcements, and they tried to gang up on me...even another customer joined in. It was an interesting dynamic! I kept laughing out of frustration because Bozo tried so hard to demonize me, even though I was the victim. . What't the point of my post? To express that Bozo and Karen are not lost prevention and need more training!
I'm grateful to TikTok and other social media platforms for making me aware of scenarios such as this. I was already mentally prepared, which helped me remain calm and composed. However, still flabbergasted by the accusations. Kudos to Brian the manager, he handled things swiftly and professionally. Whether he genuinely cared or not, he at least made an attempt to lower the temperature. I guess I'm lucky? I'm 53 and have never experienced anything like this before. Majority will NEVER experience the micro aggressions, the internal biases, the stereotyping and the prejudgements, lucky you! I will play the FULL 4 minute video on all social media platforms in an attempt to educate about (again) micro aggression, internal biases and stereotyping when it comes to certain demographics.