Dear Readers,

It’s been a minute. I overbook. I procrastinate. It’s also the summer. I wanted to share my recent experience at [Brand Name Store + location]. I had sent this off to their customer service team, but have sanitized for anonymity and edited for length.
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On Sunday, 21 July 2019, I went into the sunglasses department with the intention of replacing a pair of sunglasses I had lost the previous evening.

I encountered a very condescending and arguably racist salesperson in that department. For context, I am an [Asian-country-born, Western-city-raised] woman.

She asked if she could help, I shared that I had lost my sunglasses and was looking to replace them. She proceeded to recommend a pair that had nosepieces, stating that because of my low-bridge and cheeks, I would need that type of eyewear.

I informed her that I don’t like nosepieces and prefer the ones without. She restated that I would need nosepieces because of the way my face is, in what I can only call “a regrettable tone” – implying that my low-bridge and cheeks were a problem. At that point, I wasn’t sure if she was racist or just an idiot, so I quickly made clear with my body language that I didn’t need her help anymore. She spoke to no one in particular and said, “I’m very familiar with the products” and I said, “I’m very familiar with my face.”

That was not my proudest moment, but I felt ignored, devalued and discriminated against. I don’t want to get into a conversation about privilege or race, but in that brief moment, I felt as if my Asian features were, again, not meeting Western ideals.

As well, a few weeks back I had been at [Brand Name Store] looking for the same sunglasses and I stood in that same department for 20m looking for a salesperson. Admittedly, I went into [Brand Name Store] with an already low expectation that day.

I left the section and proceeded to leave the store. I saw a very friendly salesperson at one of the fragrance counters and impulsively asked if I could speak with the store manager. The fine woman spent a good 10m looking for a store manager. I decided to make my exit at that point as I still had sunglasses to buy, then noticed the concierge and asked her if I could speak with the store manager. Fortunately, she was successful, and I spoke with [store manager] – who was patient, listened and very open to the feedback.

One thing I think is also relevant, I used to live in [Western-city] and visited the [Brand Name Store] many times and never once experienced this lack of quality customer service as a shopper.

Not that this makes a huge dent in your sales revenue, but after I left your store, I went to the [competitor store]  and purchased sunglasses within 10m of walking into their store and after a warm welcome by their staff. They were helpful, supportive and made me feel valued as a customer. I felt good about spending my money there. I’m not in a position to say the same thing about [Brand Name Store].

Even though I communicated my experience to [store manager], I still felt compelled to formally share it via this channel – not only to address the discrimination, but to also highlight the three other employees who were more in keeping with what I expect of a [Brand Name Store] customer experience.  More of them, less of the ignorant sunglasses salesperson.