After purchasing Christmas gifts at Louis Vuitton, a Michigan woman was stopped and questioned by the police as she looked for more items to potentially purchase. As she and her daughter walked around the store, the clerk asked her to leave her bags behind the counter (because after spending close to $7K maybe would steal something?) as they continued to shop before the police approached her.
After spending $6731 on designer bags and other items, Dana Hale and her daughter were accused of credit card fraud. Hale put $3800 of her $6700 purchase on her credit card and paid the remaining balance in cash. When stopped by a Troy police officer he told her the clerk said her signature didn’t match the name on the account and her card declined. Which was false because if her card declined the clerk wouldn’t have bagged her high priced items and gave her a receipt.
Hale said she was racially profiled because she was dressed down and black woman. She owns a nurses training center in East Point and maybe it was hard for the clerk to believe that a black woman could own a business and afford a $7000 purchase.
Hale said the store reached out to her and offered to refund her money and let her keep the items, to which she declined. This gestures in some ways solidifies the fact that she was racially profiled. She had already reached out to a lawyer to move forward with a lawsuit.
But lets look at the bigger picture. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this story and this won’t be the last. How often do people have to discriminate against us before we start spending our money with each other?
There are a number of black owned businesses that sell purses, belts and other accessories. Our biggest hang up is telling black owners there products are too expensive while spending $1000 on a watch or purse from a white designer or business. How sway? We must break the habit of expecting a hook up from BOB’s and try to tell them what to charge for their products and serves.
Yet another situation reminding us to work together and support each other.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDZ2vhoUIz0]
as is the case with so many UI stories, this article is riddled with errors. as interesting as this story is, the mistakes distract from that. please, find a competent proofreader.
And for some cheap Chinese played out junk, too, LOL. Joke’s on HER. She should know better than to spend money on wypipo crap by now.
I would have taken that Merchandise back and got all my money or have it placed on my credit card with receipt in hand to make sure money was credited on my account and cash money returned to me right at that moment… then give them lessons on how to treat and care for the customer????
Besides the extraneous things mentioned in the comments, the real problem is what the author mentioned – the fact that this woman would be willing to shell out that much money without even considering a Black-owned establishment. Did she have a bad experience and decide to not bother again? Or is she caught up, like so many of us are? I’m waiting for the best part of Macy’s January after-Christmas sale [after the 15th or so] when the real wool and cashmere hats and gloves are less than 1/2 off. What Black owned stores sell the same? Sometimes, it feels like a Catch-22. We know Black stores won’t get the same wholesale as a Macy’s, so of course the price will be higher. Some of us are willing to overlook that, but again I ask – where are they? Marketing is important; word of mouth won’t always work for you.