Reuel's

Miguel Chamorro _{on Google}

Jul 5th, 2014

Reuel's has always been a good place to buy art supplies, but the last time I went in there I had the most horrible experience. I went in to check pricing for a mural and one of the employees followed me around the store watching everything I did. I paused and stared back, eventually sparking the conversation about why she was watching me. She explained it was just company policy to secure their merchandise. I noticed that out of six customers I was the only one being watched. I mentioned this to her, but her response didn't change. I stated that she was watching me because I was a person of color and she simply nodded with the reply, "I'm sorry, it's just company policy." I left without making a scene, but walked back in to ask for the manager. The manager then proceeded to give me the same explanation. Perhaps it was the color of my skin, the old navy zip-up hooded sweatshirt I wore or perhaps another factor--it was obviously all three. It's absurd that this type of practice still occurs in 2014. Reuel's is great, just not this location with their naive prejudice practices.
(In response to the stores response: Nobody, was moving rapidly or acting erratically. The only thing I'm accused of doing is being a person of color in your store. Yes, loss prevention accomplished their job. They followed a person of color around and made their experience horrible so that they would exit the store as quick as possible. Great job.)