00:17can I help you with something oh yes hi I'm looking for something special for
00:24an anniversary dinner tonight my boyfriend is taking me to this amazing
00:28restaurant and I saw this dress in the window it's absolutely gorgeous oh that
00:36dress could I try it on I think it would be perfect for tonight I'm sorry but our
00:42store policy requires customers to purchase items before trying them on I'm
00:46sorry what purchase before trying on how does that work exactly that's simply how
00:56we operate here it's to protect our expensive merchandise but how am I
01:02supposed to know if it fits I've never heard of a store policy like that I've
01:06been shopping my whole life and never encountered anything like this well this
01:12is how we do things here we have to protect our inventory from customers who
01:17might not have genuine purchasing intent but I can see other customers handling
01:24your merchandise right now those are different circumstances different how
01:29what makes my circumstances different look if you're interested in purchasing that
01:35dress the price is three thousand dollars three thousand the tag says fifteen
01:41hundred that was a promotional price that ended this morning this morning I was
01:48looking at your website last night and it showed fifteen hundred then too well
01:53things change prices fluctuate based on demand is this because I'm black excuse me I
02:00treat all customers equally I resent that accusation do you know because I've
02:06shopped in stores like this my entire life and I've never been told I can't try
02:12something on before I buy it I've never had prices mysteriously double while I'm
02:17standing there I don't appreciate your tone maybe you'd be more comfortable
02:21shopping somewhere else somewhere else you know it's just somewhere more than
02:28your price range somewhere that might be better fit for what you were looking for a
02:33better fit right I want to speak to your manager fine but she's gonna tell you the
02:42same thing I did good afternoon I understand there's been some confusion yes thank you
02:54for coming out I came in to buy a dress for tonight but your employee told me I have to
03:03purchase it before trying it on she also doubled the price while I was standing
03:08here I see Carol can you explain the policy again for me I was just following
03:16our standard try before you buy policy and it was quoted has the current prices
03:20listed in our system yes we do have that policy it was implemented to protect our
03:27merchandise from certain customers who might damage or steal items certain
03:32customers what does that mean exactly well we've had issues with people who
03:37come in with no real intention to purchase people who treat our story like
03:41their personal fitting room and what gives you the impression that I'm one of
03:45those people look it's not personal it's simply a business precaution we've had to
03:50take but other customers in here right now are handling your merchandise
03:56freely what makes me different from them those are regular customers people we
04:01know and trust so you're telling me that as a first-time customer I'm
04:06automatically treated like a potential thief like I understand your frustration but these
04:11are policies that we have for good reason we have to protect our investment your investment
04:19right and the price doubling prices are set based on various factors market demand inventory
04:26levels customer profiles customer profiles we price items based on what we believe customers are
04:32willing and able to pay this is about my skin color isn't it you took one look at me and
04:38decided I don't belong
04:39here that's absolutely not true we treat all customers the same fairly you're treating me like a
04:47criminal for wanting to buy a dress I just wanted something beautiful for my boyfriend who's taking
04:52me somewhere special tonight okay well perhaps your boyfriend would prefer a restaurant that's more
04:57appropriate for your budget there are many establishments that cater to your community my
05:03community I simply mean there are stores that might be a better fit for what you're looking for I
05:09have money I have a credit card I just wanted to buy a dress and feel beautiful tonight don't take
05:17this the wrong way I was just maybe if you consider shopping somewhere else maybe somewhere more
05:22suitable for people like me yeah I think that would be best for everyone involved you know what
05:29you're right I should go somewhere I'm wanted Michael how was your trip to New York Diane and Carol it
05:39was
05:39great close the deal on the new collection that we discussed that's wonderful we're so excited to see
05:46what you've selected no I think you'll love it very sophisticated pieces perfect for our clientele Zara
05:53Michael what are you doing here I finished my meeting early so and I thought I'd swing by before dinner
06:00hey what's wrong you look upset I came here to find a dress for tonight but they wouldn't let me
06:07try
06:07anything on it was just a small misunderstanding about our store policy I'm talking to my girlfriend
06:13now tell me what happened they told me I had to buy the dress before trying it on when I
06:20questioned
06:21that they doubled the price they then suggested I shop somewhere more appropriate for people like me
06:29people like you they said I should find stores that cater to my community that you would probably
06:35prefer restaurants that are more suitable for my budget they said that to you about us they assumed we
06:44didn't belong in upscale places they looked at me and made assumptions based on my skin color
06:52Michael there's been a misunderstanding we were just following security protocols
06:56security protocols what security protocols well the try before buy policy we implemented it to prevent theft
07:05I never authorized any such policy what theft were you preventing well we we've had issues with
07:11certain customers who come in without genuinely having purchasing intent certain customers explain to
07:19me what you mean by that well people who might not be able to afford our merchandise but want to
07:24try
07:24things on anyway and how did you determine that my girlfriend couldn't afford a $1,500 dress you
07:31didn't know she was your girlfriend I shouldn't have to be anyone's girlfriend to be treated with respect I
07:37wanted to see how far you would go that's exactly right she shouldn't have to justify her presence in
07:43my store to anyone your store yes my store I'm the owner and I'm trying to understand how my employees
07:52looked at the woman I love and decided that she was a potential thief Michael we didn't know you
07:58didn't know what that she might actually have money what exactly didn't you know we were just being
08:04cautious I mean cautious about what a well-dressed woman wanting to buy a dress what exactly were you
08:12being cautious about sometimes people come in who weren't serious buyers and you determined she
08:17wasn't a serious buyer because well we have to protect the merchandise from what from whom now I want
08:24you to explain to me exactly what you were protecting my merchandise from you doubled the price on her you
08:30told her she couldn't try on a dress you suggested she shop elsewhere you made assumptions about
08:34where I would want to take her to dinner they said you'd prefer restaurants that cater to our
08:41community our community they assumed that was black too they assumed we both didn't belong in upscale
08:47establishments you looked at her skin color and made every assumption based on that alone you treated the
08:54woman I love like a criminal in my own store Michael please let us explain I mean explain what that
09:01you're
09:02bigots that you think you can judge people's worth based on their race that's not fair fair you want
09:08to talk about fair what was fair about humiliating my girlfriend when she came here excited to buy a
09:13dress for our anniversary we didn't know it was your anniversary if she didn't know because you didn't
09:19bother to treat her like a human being worth knowing Michael please we have mortgages families and
09:26the czar has feelings she has dignity she deserves respect none of which you gave her can't we work
09:33this out we can't apologize to her to who to me I'm not the one humiliated I'm not the one
09:39you treated
09:40like garbage look I'm so sorry this happened to you this is not how my business should be represented
09:49I know that I know you both of you are fired effective immediately Michael please I will not
10:00have bigots representing my business I want to have people who look at customers and make judgments based
10:05on their skin color that are working for me this is unfair we were just doing our jobs your job
10:11was to
10:12help customers not discriminate against them your job was to treat people with respect not assume
10:18they're criminals because of their race you never said anything about no you didn't have to your action
10:24spoke loud enough I'm calling security to escort you both out you have 10 minutes to gather your
10:30personal belongings Michael think about this we worked here for years and in all those years you
10:37learned nothing about treating people with dignity this is discrimination against us no no this is a
10:44consequence for your discrimination against her this is ridiculous over a dress it was never about the
10:52dress it was about how you treat people who don't look like you I am so sorry this is this
10:58should
10:58never have happened to you you know this whole thing could have been avoided if she had just said who
11:09she was dating I shouldn't have to name drop my boyfriend to be treated like a human being well maybe
11:15next
11:15time you'll think about that there won't be a next time neither of you are welcome in this store ever
11:21again
11:27so about this dress I know you want to try it on I'd love to
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