Barney's workers say the store is ridiculously racist
On the sales floor at the Madison Avenue flagship store of Barneys New York, salespeople would joke about customers who, in their view, didn't belong.Often, those jokes would be aimed at the black customers, a former sales associate at the store told The Huffington Post.
The former employee, who spoke on condition she not be named for fear of jeopardizing her career in the industry, said she heard sales staff and security repeatedly rip on black shoppers: "Their card is probably not going to go through," they'd say. "I don't know why they come in here and want to try stuff on that they know they're not going to buy."
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Barneys insiders told HuffPost they've seen profiling by salespeople and security guards. One current veteran employee at the Madison Avenue store -- who asked for anonymity because workers were given "strict warning" they could lose their jobs for speaking to the media -- alleged that store security keeps a close eye on black shoppers who don't look famous.“If you’re black and come in with an entourage, you won’t be followed because they’ll be like ‘Oh, that’s somebody famous,’" the employee said. "But if you come in by yourself or with one other person, then you’re going to be followed.”
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Security expert J.R. Roberts, who is a consultant for law enforcement, businesses and attorneys on the topic, told HuffPost that racial profiling ends up aiding criminals more than it deters them.
By focusing security efforts on minority customers, Roberts said, retailers concentrate on watching the wrong people at the wrong time. They should be keeping track of customers' behavior -- not the pigment of their skin."
Not only are African-Americans being disproportionately targeted, but the retailers are being stupid because millions of dollars are walking out the door between a little old lady's legs," he said.
http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/4225710?ncid=txtlnkushpmg00000038&ir=Black+Voices
