Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2018/02/05/unapologetic-old-navy-staff-ac.html
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We take this matter - and every conversation around equality - very seriously.
But not so seriously it has any repercussions for anybody earning more than minimum wage. We got your back, Shannon _____!
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because racism no longer exists 
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Loss Prevention are the only ones in the store that are supposed to directly confront anyone for just this reason. Even if you think someone is stealing you do not want to say something and be wrong, you go to the LP in the store and let them worry about it.
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Um, a store manager (Beau Carter), makes a helluva lot more than minimum wage.
And while it doesn’t say whether “Shannon” was one of the ones fired, it could also be she was brought in at the tail end and was just told, “This guy is trying to steal a jacket,” and so investigated appropriately.
I’d say Old Navy handled an ugly situation as well as they could after the fact.
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Regardless of the guy’s skin color, if the store employees had doubts that he bought the jacket previously or not that’s not on them to stop the guy and question him. That’s Loss Prevention’s job, it’s also their job to determine if he walked in the store with it or not, basically if you didn’t catch the guy in the act (and it has to be on camera, otherwise its a he-said she-said that is problematic in its own right) you can’t stop them. I say this as someone that worked retail.
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How sad is it that I see Old Navy doing anything outside of the usual corporate “we’re sorry if you were offended” nonpology as progress?
Also, I call bullshit on it being ‘store policy’ to scan Old Navy products that the customers are wearing at checkout - especially since it should be relatively easy to tell a brand new, unworn item from one that’s been in use - at the very least, one would likely have personal items in the pockets.
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I worked at Kohls and i’d say a giant number of customers walk in wearing clothes bought at the store. I’d say brand new to obviously worn items, and i never ever saw any of those customers and thought they were trying to wear it out based on that alone. Had they looked at the guy and saw he was doing something suspicious sure let Loss Prevention know to keep an eye on him but without hard proof that he lifted anything they had zero right to question him like that, and even with proof the burden of doing so was on LP. Those employees can go piss off, working retail is hard but my #1 concern was always making my customers happy and the thought of what they did to that guy just really upsets me. And that’s not even bringing the racist profiling into the question.
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I wouldn’t shop at Old Navy under any circumstances. If I want cheap clothing I’ll go to Goodwill; otherwise I buy from reputable retailers.
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Exactly, and given how proliferate GAP, Old Navy and Banana Republic stores are in some areas, the chances of someone wearing their products while shopping at those aforementioned stores are fairly high.
I presume you meant inexpensive in price as opposed to cheaply made, which is a standard that I automatically associate with stores like Old Navy and Hollister - overpriced but cheaply produced products that are to meant wear out quickly, after just a few uses.
The quality of the clothing found at any Goodwill is entirely dependent upon the economic status of the surrounding neighborhood, IMO.
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I like the style of the clothes in Old Navy but the store has always struck me as having cheaply made clothes, i’m also not fond of the kind of environment that stores like Old Navy or GAP exude. They’re not welcoming for my tastes so i never shop there even if the clothes were of better quality.
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You probably misread my comment, because you’re agreeing with me with that nasty “um.”
Why do they include the customer’s name in the apology tweet? No good can come of it.
OH it is such bullshit. WHAT are they going to scan?
Working at Walmart for 5 years there is a ton of hoops one has to jump through before they even try to approach a shop lifter. Generally ONLY the loss prevention people and maybe the store manager have the power to accuse someone. Even if someone else witnessed something, they wouldn’t usually do anything with out one of the LP team also witnessing it. A friend caught a kid red handed trying to walk out with some electronic item, and he got flak for it.
Basically in the case of retail they’d rather let 10 shop lifters go and not get one false accusation. I really doubt Old Navy’s official policy is much different. The audacity of these people is amazing. No shit, they got fired. I wonder too if the “District Manager” was really the DM and not someone else because 1) they know better and 2) they are rarely in stores. If so, I hope she was fired as well.
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o_0 who do you want them to reply to? “That one black guy in a blue coat.”?
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Aside from the poor quality of their products, there’s also the ethical issue with the family that owns those companies; the Fishers cut down Redwood trees in Mendocino County.
If I own any of their merch, it came second-hand from a consignment shop, please believe it.
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Glad i don’t bother with them. GAP is too pretentious and Old Navy is like a more trashy wannabe Urban Outfitters. And i don’t even like Urban Outfitters. Thus far i’ve been happy shopping at Kohls on the odd occasion, and buying other stuff on Amazon.
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When I worked retail, we had a name for people who walk in wearing clothing from the store: “repeat customers”. They were highly prized.
But that would be way back in the heady days of 1998. I remember because I was wearing an onion on my belt, as was the fashion at the time. I guess things are different now.
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I’m obviously too old to understand this; last time I was in a Gap they only sold Levis and phonograph records. You had to go down the street to Bigsby & Kruthers if you wanted a good double-knit leisure suit.
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Hardly anything at a GAP store is reasonably priced, they’re catering to a demographic that is better off than i am. While i have no problem with the customers at all i do find the store itself uninviting and pretentious, granted i am talking about my own experience and perception of the store.
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