The location opens at 7:00 a.m., and I arrived at approximately 7:05 a.m. I pulled my car up to the…read moresliding door, walked inside, and asked for assistance. The employee pictured immediately yelled, "Hey, What are you doing here?" I replied that I was there for a state inspection.
He responded very rudely, saying, "We don't do inspections until 8:00 a.m." I calmly and politely explained that I was unaware because there was no signage indicating that inspections began at 8:00 a.m. He replied, "That's not my problem. I've been working here for 10 years, and this shop, like every other shop, doesn't do inspections until 8:00 a.m." His entire demeanor was confrontational, and he treated me as though I was trespassing simply for asking about an inspection.
I explained that I had been coming to this location for the past two years and had never been treated this way before. At that point, another male customer walked over, and the pictured employee's attitude immediately changed. He then turned back to me and said, "Move your car outta here," while shooing me away as if I were a dog.
As I was getting back into my car, he continued talking about me to the other customer, making comments that caused the customer to look at me as though I had created a disturbance. The entire interaction was humiliating, unprofessional, and completely unnecessary.
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The entire interaction was demeaning, disrespectful, and completely unprofessional. My vehicle's camera captured the encounter, although unfortunately it did not record the audio.
Every paying customer deserves to be treated with courtesy and respect. I left feeling singled out because of the way I was treated. While I can't know the employee's motivation, the interaction left me with the impression that I was treated differently as an African American woman.