Today 5/16/2023 I went to Hobby Lobby (1351 W Imperial Highway La Habra 90631) since it was on the way while walking to nearest post office to mail some packages. I had my blue reusable shopping bag with me, and it had all my packages and outgoing mail in it. I decided to pop in real quick to look for items I didn’t find at the Costa Mesa gem faire I went to last week. I took some pictures and got some ideas, and I found these variously sized little glass bottles in a package for 8.99 on the jewelry aisle. I walked around with them because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to buy them or not. I only needed one, not several. I decided to leave them and put them back on another isle (which was my mistake, I should have put them back where I got them). I walked back up to the front of the store and when I got to the door, a woman about my same height (4’11) with dark brown/black hair, black pants, an either white or cream colored patterned shirt and wearing a gold name badge that said “RITA” with “assistant manager” under it) approached me from the side, got very close, and started to try to block my path. At first I was confused as to what was going on but she soon made her intentions clear. She asked me where the pack of bottles was! I was absolutely shocked. I told her I put them back, and she didn’t believe me! She then insisted that I go show her where I put them. I refused, because I now was absolutely aware of what was going on. I started feeling really upset and wanted to get out of the situation ASAP because I knew I did nothing wrong. I described to her in detail where they were, on top of one of the open shipment boxes just a few aisles over on the floor. By this point all the workers and customers in the front were watching and listening, and I was feeling really embarrassed. She said okay and didn’t even apologize, then she started to walk away. I turned away too, and then thought for 2 seconds to myself “what just happened to me right now wasn’t okay” and I turned around to her and said, “Excuse me.” She ignored me, so I said it again. I got her attention this time and I asked for her name and told her I was calling corporate regarding this because what she did wasn’t right. She told me to go ahead and she pulled her shirt pocket down, showing me her tag. I feel and absolutely believe that this happened to me due to racial/stereotypical profiling. I am short, had my hair messy, sweats on, and I have a lot of piercings and tattoos. This is not the first time I have been followed or watched closely at Hobby Lobby but it’s the first time something like this has ever happened to me in any retail store. It sucks too because they have some stuff I totally wanted.
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Crafts, Etc! Craft Supplies - Over 30 years in the arts & crafts industry. We specialize in craft supplies, jewelry making, scrapbooking and much more. In association with Hobby Lobby Creative Centers
