Yesterday evening, me and a group of my friends were harassed by St. Regis Fine Wines & Spirits.
Me along with a group of 6 other friends visited this place last evening. Mind you one of our friends was a minor (18 years old) and while it was wrong on our part for not prohibiting him from entering the store initially, the situation that followed was unbelievable.
As we started picking out our alcohol, my 18 year old friend just stood by. He was in no way interested in purchasing alcohol. That's when a south asian employee asked us to show our IDs, as we did. As soon as she found out we had a friend underage, she said what we were doing was illegal. At first we were taken back, but then it hit me. She thought we were purchasing alcohol for him.
Now, we never had the intention of providing alcohol to our 18 year old friend, though it's completely understandable if you do not believe us. As a liquor store, you have the right not to serve alcohol if you suspect suspicious behaviour. Fair enough. But instead, this woman decided to harass us in every way possible.
She threatened us by stating the owner of the liquor store would, and I quote, "Will grab you guys by the neck and drag you out"
Unfortunately, the other male employee did not interfere with the situation.
She then threateningly asked "Want me to search your bags?"... She addressed this to everyone but especially a female friend of mine she previously had identified was over the legal age. We were shocked by her disrespect and unprofessional behaviour. Since my friend was 18, she could have told him to leave the store or kick us all out. WE WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE BY THAT! What is unacceptable, however, is her unjustified abuse and threats.
She then warned us to "Never come here ever again." We didn't argue with a soul nor was our voice was ever raised, however, we cannot say the same for the her, the south asian employee wearing yellow.
Now to make things clear, this aren't mere allegations been thrown around, these are experiences backed by all seven of us. In order to protect future customers, we have filed an in-detail complaint, reported to LCRB regarding this incident, as well as the Better Businesses Bureau. We hope St. Regis at Granville take this situation as seriously as we do. As a liquor store, it is your duty to protect your customers and treat each individual with respect.
I'd strongly recommend anyone reading this to choose a better liquor store until the staff learn to treat their customers with respect. I would've loved to talk to the manager or the owner myself but I fear we are far beyond that. read more