I'm a "thief" because I open stuff.

[xphoxbex]

and I really don't think I ever said anything about being rude to him to his face. I mean I will not show him any respect by reporting him to corporate, which I already have. There have been times where employees have been rude to me, but this is just something else...

 

[frocher]

.....

 

[xphoxbex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by frocher Sorry that happened to you. There are so many good MA's out there, sorry you ran into an idiot.

Thanks! I am glad that you understand. xoxo

 

[Beauty Mark]

Since I wasn't there and don't know how the guy said it, but calling someone Chinese isn't a racial slur. It's can grossly inaccurate and a display of ignorance (like assuming all Hispanics are Puerto Rican), but it's not a racist thing to indicate someone's race.

 

[purrtykitty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beauty Mark Since I wasn't there and don't know how the guy said it, but calling someone Chinese isn't a racial slur. It's can grossly inaccurate and a display of ignorance (like assuming all Hispanics are Puerto Rican), but it's not a racist thing to indicate someone's race.

true, i suppose slur was the wrong word. but nonetheless, this douchebag has some deep-seated racist issues and he should be not working in customer service where he may be required to help those very people whom he has racist tendencies toward.

 

[Shimmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by purrtykitty true, i suppose slur was the wrong word. but nonetheless, this douchebag has some deep-seated racist issues and he should be not working in customer service where he may be required to help those very people whom he has racist tendencies toward.

Many people within the population have a bias for or against people of different ethnicities, creeds, etc. To make a statement like the one you just did is to essentially say that no one should work anywhere, because they may or may not have bias.

 

[purrtykitty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shimmer Many people within the population have a bias for or against people of different ethnicities, creeds, etc. To make a statement like the one you just did is to essentially say that no one should work anywhere, because they may or may not have bias.

that's true, but i'm more referring to those people with such deep-seated issues that they feel no qualms about vocalizing their discontent for persons of a certain race, ethnicity, religion, sex, or sexual preference (i think i got them all) within that said person's earshot.

of course everyone has biases...but the majority of us are mature enough to suck them up and do our jobs to the best of our capabilities. we are also open-minded enough to see that we just might be wrong sometimes.

 

[YvetteJeannine]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sitasati I had something like that happened to me once. I was in some drugstore..I forget the name. I was just browsing ..and I was a regular there. I always went there and spent tons of money. So some sales dude ..or security guy kept following me around. So I called him on it..I was like "why are u following me?" He just said "oh ..no im not ..sorry" I was like "ok good" and went on my merry way. lol But the point is..just call the person on it..and if they get rude with u just be like "yo..I got money I don't need to steal!". As for Sephora. I don't like Sephora because of bad customer service, lack of product knowledge by the sales girls. I'm sorry but they don't sound like makeup artists to me. Just some cashiers who are there to ring you up. You are pretty much on your on.

That's the point, though...Having money doesn't neccesarily mean you won't steal...In fact, it's usually the people that do have money, and can easily afford to purchase the item(s) that steal....Remember Winona Ryder's little 'mishap' in Saks (or was it Bloomingdales?) a few years back? Nobody can tell me she couldn't afford the scarves she tried to kyph!

In fact, statistics say it's the wealthier people of society that more often steal...(not to imply just 'cause one is rich means they'll steal...that's not what I'm saying)...It's a thrill seeking behavior...Done to feel like they're 'getting away' with something....

 

[noahlowryfan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by YvetteJeannine That's the point, though...Having money doesn't neccesarily mean you won't steal...In fact, it's usually the people that do have money, and can easily afford to purchase the item(s) that steal....Remember Winona Ryder's little 'mishap' in Saks (or was it Bloomingdales?) a few years back? Nobody can tell me she couldn't afford the scarves she tried to kyph! In fact, statistics say it's the wealthier people of society that more often steal...(not to imply just 'cause one is rich means they'll steal...that's not what I'm saying)...It's a thrill seeking behavior...Done to feel like they're 'getting away' with something....

it was Saks.

 

[Beauty Mark]

Quote:

true, i suppose slur was the wrong word. but nonetheless, this douchebag has some deep-seated racist issues and he should be not working in customer service where he may be required to help those very people whom he has racist tendencies toward.

I think it's honestly jumping the gun to call this person racist. He has shitty personal skills when dealing with people, but who knows how he would've handled a white person doing the same? For all we know, the original poster was not the only person being eyed at Sephora and the clerk was simply making a distinction.

If he said it in a tone that indicates that theft is to be expected of Chinese folks, yes that is indeed racist. However, further proof needs to be provided to indicate that race was a factor in his actions. For me, the fact he can't handle customers well is enough of a reason to be upset.

 

[Love Always Ivy]

well, i remember when i got into an car accident, all the cops kept talking about me refering to the Chinese girl, when im really not chinese, though its not expected of ignorant people to discern the difference .... and i felt a little offended being refered to as "the chinese girl this" or "that chinese one that"

but on the note of following customers... yes, shrink is a large loss for companies and yes its our jobs to prevent or catch shoplifters. youre supposed to do this through customer service, not stalking. no one wants to be followed around by some person around a store. sorry i have a shadow thanks. shoplifting is a crime of temptation and opportunity and knows no age or race or gender limit. a pack of teenagers with tons of hollister and abercrombie bags will walk into my store and be all over the makeup. sure they have tons of bags and probably charged up daddy's credit card a couple hundred, but i cant tell you how many ive caught stealing a stupid eyeliner for 8 bucks. or a lipbalm. you never know who is gonna steal, but you cant treat every person through the door like a theif. thats not right.

 

[Bernadette]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Love Always Ivy well, i remember when i got into an car accident, all the cops kept talking about me refering to the Chinese girl, when im really not chinese, though its not expected of ignorant people to discern the difference .... and i felt a little offended being refered to as "the chinese girl this" or "that chinese one that" a theif. thats not right.

God I wish you would have started to refer to them as "the pigs"! If time travel is ever discovered I'm taking you back and you're doing it!

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by purrtykitty that's true, but i'm more referring to those people with such deep-seated issues that they feel no qualms about vocalizing their discontent for persons of a certain race, ethnicity, religion, sex, or sexual preference (i think i got them all) within that said person's earshot. of course everyone has biases...but the majority of us are mature enough to suck them up and do our jobs to the best of our capabilities. we are also open-minded enough to see that we just might be wrong sometimes.

Technically she wasn't in ear shot. The only reason she even knew about the guy calling her "Chinese" was because her friend was near the guy who said it. He wasn't in earshot of xphoxbex. Would have saying, "Did that asian girl steal anything?" have made it appropriate? Race is just a descriptive. Perhaps a color would have been better? Yes he could have said, "Did that girl steal anything?" But especially over a head-set, "that girl" could be any of the girls in the store.

And shadowing is a pretty common way for retailers to handle shrink. You can thank all the other shoplifters out there for ruining your shopping expierence. Although I agree, the sales person following you should have been more helpful, rather than just monitoring you. Typically thats how your supposed to shadow someone. Offer them so much customer service that if they are a thief, they leave the store empty handed. And if there not, they get a good shopping expierence.

 

[purrtykitty]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae Technically she wasn't in ear shot. The only reason she even knew about the guy calling her "Chinese" was because her friend was near the guy who said it. He wasn't in earshot of xphoxbex. Would have saying, "Did that asian girl steal anything?" have made it appropriate? Race is just a descriptive. Perhaps a color would have been better? Yes he could have said, "Did that girl steal anything?" But especially over a head-set, "that girl" could be any of the girls in the store. And shadowing is a pretty common way for retailers to handle shrink. You can thank all the other shoplifters out there for ruining your shopping expierence. Although I agree, the sales person following you should have been more helpful, rather than just monitoring you. Typically thats how your supposed to shadow someone. Offer them so much customer service that if they are a thief, they leave the store empty handed. And if there not, they get a good shopping expierence.

yes, race is descriptive, but it could still be racist if the guy calls all asians "Chinese", as he would be lumping any person of asian descent into one category based on his pre-conceived notion of on group of asians. i guess i am making a lot of assumptions calling the guy a racist. but i still think the guy has some of the worst decorum (as we've already established) if he's making comments about customers (similar to what said about xphoxbex) within earshot of any customer. it reflects very poorly on him, not only as an employee, but also as a person.

 

[SnowWhiteQueen]

I'm sorry that happened to you. It seems like innocent people always get blamed for what stupid others do.

Unfortunately, I work in a very sketchy area (also in cosmetics) and we have to eye every person like that - because quite honestly most of them are in there to steal. At my store, when people open the packages, they run away with the product - so I can see what that guy was supicious. He should have known after talking to you, though, that you had the intent to buy the blush. Its a tough call sometimes I guess!

 

[jerseygirl005]

Here's a lesson girls: No employee/worker will EVER come out and verbally accuse you of theft. Why? Because if they are wrong, they are facing a slander lawsuit. At Coach, we are not allowed to accuse someone of stealing, we have to find other ways. Like people who hide wallets in the purses they are buying, I usually say something like "Oh did you want this too?" and they will act surprised and have no idea how it got there. The only time I've witnessed someone stealing was they ran through the sensors and they went off and my boss followed her and she got arrested for stealing 2 WRISTLETS!

Anyway, it's so annoying when you can tell when an employee is following you around, I usually ask them if THEY need help with something, lol.

 

[wordgirl]

It's weird. I read this thread a few days ago and then today had reason to think about it - in a very bad way.

I had the day off and met a friend at an area mall for lunch and a little retail therapy. After lunch we went into Sephora to check stuff out - she's just starting to get into makeup (post-divorce).

There were plenty of SAs in the store - I'd guess at least three, maybe five. I walked over to the perfume wall and started sniffing, while she checked out the Urban Decay and a few other lines.

We're basically about the same - middle-aged women who weren't carrying shopping bags or anything "suspicious." My friend wasn't even carrying a full purse, just a wristlet. Yet she had a SA pestering her - and not in a good way - every minute she was in that store, while I was left to browse alone after declining help. After we left, she said it seemed pretty clear to her that they felt they had to keep an eye on her. And she's NOT the type to be hyper-sensitive about that stuff.

In case you hadn't figured it out, I'm white, she's black.

The ironic kicker is that until a few years ago, she was a prosecutor in misdemeanor. Handled a LOT of shoplifting cases.

 

[xphoxbex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by wordgirl It's weird. I read this thread a few days ago and then today had reason to think about it - in a very bad way. I had the day off and met a friend at an area mall for lunch and a little retail therapy. After lunch we went into Sephora to check stuff out - she's just starting to get into makeup (post-divorce). There were plenty of SAs in the store - I'd guess at least three, maybe five. I walked over to the perfume wall and started sniffing, while she checked out the Urban Decay and a few other lines. We're basically about the same - middle-aged women who weren't carrying shopping bags or anything "suspicious." My friend wasn't even carrying a full purse, just a wristlet. Yet she had a SA pestering her - and not in a good way - every minute she was in that store, while I was left to browse alone after declining help. After we left, she said it seemed pretty clear to her that they felt they had to keep an eye on her. And she's NOT the type to be hyper-sensitive about that stuff. In case you hadn't figured it out, I'm white, she's black. The ironic kicker is that until a few years ago, she was a prosecutor in misdemeanor. Handled a LOT of shoplifting cases.

UGGG i hate sephora!!!

 

[xphoxbex]

and oh yeah ladies, i got an email from them. all it said was tell us which store location it was. and i did and... i guess nothing else is happening

 

[wordgirl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by xphoxbex UGGG i hate sephora!!!

That's the thing - this Sephora, I've always had pretty good experiences at!

My friend didn't even say anything to me. But she was totally bubbling when we went in (we had martinis with lunch) and when we came out she was very quiet and subdued. I finally said "you know, I can't believe that," and she kind of sighed and said "it happens."

The really sad thing is that there's a standalone MAC store in that mall, and a Nordie's with a huge beauty counter. If only I had realized Sephora was going to be such a disaster I would have taken her to one of the other options!

edit 12/3: I went in yesterday to return a mail order that hadn't worked out. I asked to speak to the manager and just very quietly told her what happened. Her reaction was pretty appropriate - she asked me to ask my friend to call her and also asked me to convey her apologies. She seemed very concerned about it. I thought that was good.