Lowe’s department stores across the country are revisiting a policy that one customer pointed out profiles Black shoppers.
Will Mega made multiple purchases at a Lowe’s in West Philadelphia and was asked to show his receipt to a door attendant despite just making the purchase feet from the exit.
“I told her ‘you just watched the entire exchange, I am not giving you a receipt. You can ask the cashier if I paid for my item.’ As I proceeded to walk past her, she angrily raised her voice and said ‘I don’t see what the problem is, I just asked for your receipt!’ I responded, ‘I don’t have to show you my receipt,'” he recalled in an email to Philly.com.
It turns out the policy was only in place in “high-theft” areas, an employee at the West Philadelphia store told Mega.
“So I’m being treated like a criminal because somebody else committed a crime” Mega asked.
In another video, when Mega made purchases at a Lowe’s in Haverford and asked if his receipt would be checked, a cashier responded, You don’t need to show your receipts here. This is the white hood, we don’t do that here.”
Haverford, located in Delaware County, has a Black population of just 3 percent. Philadelphia is 44 percent Black.
Lowe’s is suspending its receipt policy until we can fully review our process,” company spokesperson Jackie Pardini Hartzwell told WHYY.
But that’s not enough for Mega, who has filed a complaint with the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission.
Mega wants to take the issue all the way to the top, demanding a meeting with Marvin Ellison, Lowe’s brand new African American CEO.
I want to talk about some of the serious ways to change the culture, practice and policies for Lowe’s and also some redress for the communities they have racially profiled, targeted and harassed,” he told WHYY.
When Ellison officially joins Lowe’s in July, there will be three Black men on the company’s 28-person executive team.
But the chain may have to revisit some practices at its individual stores because the West Philadelphia location had an incident regarding racism last year. Two Black men shopping at that location reported they were referred to as the N-word by a store worker. The employee who threw the slur was also Black and reportedly no longer works at the store.
