On Dec 26 I purchased a pair of pants for my granddaughter at the Body Shop in Eastdale Mall, Montgomery, AL. As it was the day after Christmas, The store was crowded with shoppers returning items. It was extremely hectic behind the counter with salespersons trying to take care of the crowd.
I picked out a pair of jeans with my granddaughter and purchased them. I was not informed of the small waste high sign behind the salespeople that explained the return policy, nor could I see past them to read it. The salesperson never informed me verbally of the return policy at the point of sale.
My granddaughter took the pants home and had planned on wearing them that night. She removed the tags and found a defect under one of the tags. This defect was not visible until the tag was removed. She folded the pants up and put them back in the bag with the tags and sales receipt. She never put the pants on.
On Jan. 6 I returned to the Body Shop at Eastdale Mall to return the pants. My granddaughter went on ahead and tried to return them. The saleslady (Dana Thomas) told that the tags had been removed and she could not return them without a parent being present. My granddaughter found me and I went the store.
The saleslady then told me that I could not return them because the tag had been removed. I told her that the defect was hidden under the tag and could not be observed until after the tag had been removed. My granddaughter, myself, or anyone else would have no way of knowing about the defect until the tag was removed. She again said that the store policy not to accept any returns that had the tag removed.
This is a catch 22 situation. You cant find the defect until the tag is removed, but you cant bring the item back if the tag is removed. Makes it convenient to hide a defect and unload bad merchandise, doesnt it? At the very least, this is fraud.
At The Time that we were in the store, both of the salesladys were black and there were several black customers in the store. We were the only white people in the store. My wife and I got the distinct impression that the sales lady was tripping out over the fact that she could mess with some white people and get away with it.
It was obvious that they was enjoying being able to turn us down. They kept talking to the other customers in the store about how stubborn I was and making a joke out of it. Dana kept making remarks to the other customers like do you believe this man, I told him he cant bring these pants back and he just wont listen. She made several other remarks to the other (black) customers in the store about me.
These other remarks I am not able to quote at this time, but it was a very uneasy experience. No matter what my problem was, it certainly was not the business of any other customer in the store and Dana Thomas should not have brought them into it. This is discrimination, no matter which direction it is aimed at.
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