Racist and discrimination. Criminal profiling targeting no whites! Let me start by saying… I am a local resident, I live a few blocks away on the Peninsula. I moved here in March, to be in a safer cleaner city, which Newport Beach is that. I am at this Pavilions weekly, and I have a Pavilions for U membership . I am all in for Pavilions as a dedicated loyal shopper meaning I don’t go anywhere else! BUT…there is definitely something going on there as in racism. I am Hispanic and Black, I look like both. Since I started shopping there I do not get the warm welcome at all. I get the stares and the silence treatment at the checkout register. If I engage in conversation I get a few ladies to speak to me but no one ever engages and ask me if I found everything or even a simple HELLO. They are all whites working there. With that said, now comes the issue. I was there yesterday 6-5 at 6:05pm, with my hubby. We got a bag of chips, a 24pk of water and he bought me two bunches of flowers. It’s next to the Starbucks so I grabbed a cup 50%off. The young lady asked if I wanted the receipt, I said no unless they are going to think I stole it. She said no you’re fine. Fine l, we are at self checkout. I noticed there’s lots of people there. I was on the produce side at self checkout machine. Very visible to staff working in the produce or anyone else. I ring up my items and paid for them. We began to leave, my husband is a few feet in front heading to the car parked in disabled because I am disabled. I was talking to my daughter on the phone showing her the flowers. As I am crossing the door to go outside, I then hear someone from behind yelling at me. I hang up and my husband assumes I dropped something and keeps walking to the car with the 3 items including the cup. I assume it’s the cup I am being stopped to verify my purchase. I walk to the man standing there yelling “did you buy that”. I said oh the Starbucks cup, yes. And walked to the Starbucks girl who rang me up and told her , can you please tell him I bought it and she tells him Yes. He then says not the cup I mean all the groceries. I looked stun, and said, what do you mean the groceries?. You think I stole these 3 things? He says did you buy them? I said yes!! Here is my receipt and he looks at it and says OH. I said how dare you stop me and humiliate me without solid proof I was stealing. He says it’s because your items weren’t in a bag. I said well it was only 3 items!! 1 was water! I said I want to speak to your manager. He said, I am the manager. I told him this wrong at every level and he said NOTHING. Just stood there as if he had all the right to stop and accuse me.
The plot twist is… I know this man because a few weeks ago he helped me buy a Starbucks cup when they were closed. And apparently you have to ring up the items at the Starbucks registers. He was friendly, no issues just apologized for the Starbucks being closed.
Now he’s yelling at me to stop and prove I purchased my groceries!!
This is pure discriminatory because I am not white and I have tattoos. He profiled me as if I looked like a criminal. Others were walking out with NO BAG and he didn’t stop anyone else. I feel humiliated and embarrassed to go to this store and be judged by my ethnicity and tattoos. I don’t think this is something to just let go. There is clearly racism going on there. I was targeted and investigated for theft with no proof! Role the video footage. I paid. I didn’t steal anything. Here’s my receipt from the self checkout .
