My complaint:
Hi,
I am writing to bring to your attention an experience I had at the Zara store at Bath recently when I was there to return some items that was purchased recently. On 03/02/2024, my companions and I were selected for bag checks by the store guard as it started beeping as we walked past the doors, while it seemed that others were allowed to pass through the security doors without similar checks.
While I understand the importance of security measures, this incident left us feeling quite embarrassing. When we addressed this with the store manager, without considering to question the guard at the time, she talks back defending it wasn’t racism without even checking the camera.
To explain the full context:
We feel that it was an act of racism when the white people who passed by us were allowed to go while we as Indians were held back. And the guard without apologising for the machines false alarm, says in a rude tone “you can go now”. When asked to feedback this issue about false positive alarm which was beeping without anybody standing in between the security alarm, he denies to do, when asked to call his manager, says I won’t call, you can find her by yourself which was even rude. When customers have to raise any complaints, is this the way your staff is trained , to ask customers find by ourselves?
When we found the manager to raise this issue about being embarrassed to be called out coz of the machine malfunction.she first mentions that they had issue with the alarm system which was fixed few days back, and says there is no way the alarm could be malfunctioning without apologising.Only tries to defend that guard did not mean to be racist without checking the camera to see if he called us out while others passed out of same doors.
She claims that security alarm is for checking if the tags on the shopped items are removed or not and didn’t mean to call us to as to check if we robbed, while the guard did see that we didn’t carry any Zara bags checked all our pockets , our personal bags. checking our pockets and bag without first asking if we shopped or had any of our purchases had any tags left on them does prove that he saw us as “thieves” while he let go of others holding us back does show he was being “racist”.
Hence I request you to provide me with the cctv footage to check further if the guard did pull us out for being brown and letting go of whites.
If my query is not answered or if any further action is not taken, I would like to make sure I take this to court of law to get the cctv footage and fight it out.
I will not let go of your 2 staff who embarrassed us and went without apologising.
This incident happened at Zara store Bath, Somerset on 3rd February at around 16.10.
Suggested solution:
Address it, apologise and compensate
