September 2018 by Joe Z.
On 10/24 at 3pm unfortunately I got to witness a manager and clerk treating a black customer in a sketchy way because of the amount of his purchase. I actually wish I had said something to the manager, who, rather than just asking for the customers ID with a smile, implementing store policy, she was grouchy with him when asking for it, gave him sideways glances and looked at the cashier as if something fishy was going on, sighed and barked the return policy at him for items he was buying (he was not returning anything.) She made a big deal over the fact that he was "going to pay in cash, right?" except he was not, and he got out his credit card. This customer, on the other hand, was polite, produced his ID gladly, and I general accepted graciously a kind of attitude that I personally would have complained loudly about. He, unfortunately, probably did not have that recourse--I do not think the manager's reaction to him would have been the same l as to me. I was really pretty shocked to see a manager (maybe not a clerk) behave this way.--- After it was over and he was gone, the clerk did that thing people do when they know something was awkward: She spontaneously started explaining to me she needed to verify his purchase with the manager. (I had been silent looking at my phone.) She went on while I just nodded telling me that over $200 or so they have to call a manger to protect themselves, and she feels bad to have to put people through the trouble. Here is the deal on running a store. You have policies to protect yourself. You should implement them. Rational people dont get upset by this (btw the customer did not). But you should also always do it graciously, with a smile even, and treat your customer with good will. You rely on your policy to protect you. You DO NOT supplement that with grouchy attitudes, sideways looks, extra admonishments and odd behavior. That doesnt protect you from fraud. It only makes you look like a Neanderthal. It was wrong and the clerk clearly recognized that.
