DO NOT SHOP HERE IF YOU ARE A BLACK MAN...
DO NOT SHOP HERE…read moreIF YOU ARE A BLACK MAN IN ORDINARY CLOTHES....
*REGENTS STREET BRANCH*
On the 21st May, me and my partner drove all the way from Bishops Stortford (2 hour drive, 40 miles) to this branch so I could return my Tudor watch that I was not happy with. I was not dressed inappropriately, I had on a blue hugo boss jacket, hugo boss jeans and a pairs of white cleens trainers.
When my partner parked our vehicle at 18:50, I approached the shop with the large box that contained my watch and saw a security guard (Ibrahim) standing on the opposite side of the door. When I went to open the door he looked me up and down and said "we are closed" I then politely pointed to the time to show him that it was 18:53 and it was not yet closing time. He then repeated that the "shop was closed"
Feeling slightly confused by this treatment, I then looked at the security man and the time and I immediately became very insecure and questioned myself "do I not look good enough, am I not wearing the right clothes?or it is the fact that I'm a black man approaching the shop with a box in my hand and I seem suspicious?
Feeling really upset and my anxiety through the roof (i suffer with mental health and high blood pressure which i take medication for *Amloydipine*).... I returned to my car explaining the whole incident to my partner who is a white man and he agreed that my treatment was unwarranted and he questioned as I did, if my encounter was to do with the colour of my skin.
We then drove home and for the rest of the evening I felt really low, depressed and anxious.
22nd May 10am:
I returned to the same store again with my tudor box in hand, still upset with what happened yesterday but hoping to have a different experience. Once again, I approached the door and saw the same security guard.
When I approached the door, and i expected the door to be opened for me, he again looked me up and down and it was not until I signalled for him to open the door that he opened it.
Rather than displaying excellent customer service skills (which you would expect from a shop that sells watches in the excess of thousands and thousands of pounds) and saying "good morning sir, how can I be of assistance" he said to me "DELIVERIES ARE AROUND THE SIDE OF THE BUILDING"
This immediately got my back up, made me feel insignificant and triggered off my anxiety once again as it did the day before. I then said to the security guard "how dare you assume that I'm a delivery driver just because im black and I have a box in my hand" Please note that I never had a high vis on, a notepad, any type of machinery or any clothing that could possibly make me look like a delivery driver. This was simply a case of racial profiling.
I was then approached by the manager who did her best to calm me down because I was clearly distressed. As I was describing my ordeal, I accidently used the F word and rather than focus on the disgusting customer service I received, the manager threatened to call the police making me even more anxious, because I then believed that as a black man I would be the victim of police brutality because they would assume I was the trouble maker.
When I was leaving the store, I was approached by another manager who tried to passify me by offering to shake my hand and apologise on behalf of the security guard which I refused.
I then suggested that they should give the security guard training on customer service and that he should not judge people based upon their appearance.
I want to point out that I have NEVER EVER in all my adult life been treated like this in a shop, and as I'm writing this, I'm feeling like I'm worthless and i'm having to relive all of my encounters of racial profiling, racist encounters and mistreatment ove experienced which has already scarred me more than than coming out as a black GAY man.
On top of that, W.O.S did nothing to make feel any better or offer me anything to rectify the issue.
Absolutely disgusting customer service from a shop that is supposed to treat everyone the same and either respect.