Miriam and Carlita Alejandro, Latinx sisters, shopping at The Children’s Place in Camp Hill, Pa., got harassed by a nosey store clerk when they ask to price match clothes. A sales associate said the women were angry because they’re on welfare.
Miriam said she was there to help a family who had lost everything in a fire by purchasing clothes for a child. Ms. Rhonda, the store clerk who was helping the ladies, said they may have to wait for the price check because the store was busy.
Miriam wrote on her Facebook page that she responded to Ms. Rhonda: “‘Lancaster never gives us any issues or said such a thing, but okay.’ Then Price Match Patty aka Genie who was never in our conversation started getting smart saying that we (my sister & I) ‘were mad because we were on welfare.'”
Ms. Rhonda didn’t know what to do when the Alejandro sisters reported what the nosey store employee said, but she attempted to chastise her. Miriam started recording to document the experience they had.
Price Match Patty has been fired, according to a company statement provided on Monday. Carlita Alejandro posted on Facebook that the company called and offered gift cards and reward points to continue spending her money at the retailer.
Because that’s the way to handle your company’s screw up– buy off the people your employees have offended
Alejandro wrote, “I will NEVER feel safe nor welcomed shopping their stores again!!”
The Children’s Place has a history of discrimination. In 2000, they lost a lawsuit concerning profiling customers and had to provide anti-discrimination training in all stores in Massachusetts and hire a consultant to look at their policies.
Unrelated to the incident, two executives left the company this week (Pamela Wallack and Anurup Pruthi), “to pursue other opportunities” — the only minority and the only female in the C-Suite (other than the female CEO). The Children’s Place Inc. has never participated in Fair360, formerly DiversityInc’s Top 50 Companies for Diversity competition.
CEO and president Jane Elfers said, “As we approach the last phase of our major systems implementations, the opportunity exists for significant efficiencies across the organization, and today we are announcing a more streamlined senior leadership structure.”
Price Match Patty has not been fully identified yet, but some commenters on social media say she’s married to a Black man, like Key Fob Kelly in St. Louis. That wouldn’t excuse her behavior anyway.
Others say they have been profiled at that same store by Price Match Patty and others before.
