, has fostered a narrow view of the “ideal” customer and worker, which former employees said has created a racist and toxic work environment.
Former employees in stores around the country recalled similar experiences. “Why can’t a Black lady and her friend come to the store without you thinking they are there to steal?” said Naomi Abrams, a Black woman who worked at Anthropologie stores in Virginia and New York City. “At first, I felt 100% conflicted. … I never followed through with the instructions [to follow around Black customers who were not stealing]. … I would just respond ‘copy that’ … and pretend I was on it.
Abrams said, “Going on to my last year there, when I began to feel completely exhausted with the company, and we would get the [“Nick’] announcement over the headset, I would look at my fellow Black employees and we would just roll our eyes in solidarity.” Another former employee, who asked not to be named to protect her privacy, said, “I had this one Caribbean woman, who would come in once a week, and she would shop. … One time she came up to me crying because she felt they were really watching her.” This employee eventually quit Anthropologie shortly after a manager “called ‘Nick’” on her boyfriend when he came to pick her up from the store.
Business Business Latest News, Business Business Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Source: ABC - 🏆 471. / 51 Read more »