Supermarket discrimination advice needed — Scope | Disability forum
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Supermarket discrimination advice needed

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bcrabl
bcrabl Community member Posts: 4 Listener
edited August 2021 in Disability rights and campaigning
I was shopping in a UK high street supermarket and at the counter I tried to purchase a lottery ticket. The person serving me asked me to remove my mask. I explained to them that I would prefer not to and I gave them my ID which they looked at and I told them why I would prefer not to remove my mask. The person then got really angry and demanded I remove my mask, I told them they were making me really upset and against my wishes I removed my mask. At this point they looked at the people in the queue behind me and shouted 'My dad has xxxx as well and your upsetting me!' At this point I was shocked and tears started to well. They then turned to a colleague and told them to serve me because they wouldn't. I was so upset I rushed out the shop without buying what I had wanted. I contacted their customer service via email and after a week of looking in to it they have apologised and said they have dealt with the staff member concerned. My question is this - would it be wrong to expect more than an email apologising? I am utterly devasted by the way I was humiliated in front of all those people and I am no longer able to shop in that store because of the way I was treated and made to feel.
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 54,474 Disability Gamechanger
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    HI,

    May i ask what else you would like to achieve from this other than the apology? Removing your mask for ID purposes should only take a second or two. I do agree though that the person should not have got angry and could have dealt with the situation without showing their anger.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
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  • MarkM88
    MarkM88 Community member Posts: 3,127 Connected
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    I can understand how upsetting this would have been for you. You should never be felt you had been humiliated. However two points. Firstly I don’t see any discrimination and secondly they are entitled to ask you to remove your mask to identify you are the person in the ID. 
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  • Ross_Alumni
    Ross_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 7,652 Disability Gamechanger
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    Welcome to the community, sorry to hear of what you went through @bcrabl, if you don't want to remove your face-mask you should not be made to, I agree with Poppy that the person could have dealt with the situation much better. Your reasoning for wanting to keep your mask on should be respected.
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  • MarkM88
    MarkM88 Community member Posts: 3,127 Connected
    edited August 2021
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    Ross_Scope said:
    Welcome to the community, sorry to hear of what you went through @bcrabl, if you don't want to remove your face-mask you should not be made to, I agree with Poppy that the person could have dealt with the situation much better. Your reasoning for wanting to keep your mask on should be respected.
    Totally agree with that, however it should be noted that the sale can also be refused if the individual serving cant assertain the individual is who is in the ID. 
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  • janer1967
    janer1967 Community member Posts: 21,964 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi there 

    I am sorry for how you have been treated 

    The main point to focus on 7s that the colleague had been dealt with so hopefully won't happen to anyone else 

    I was a manager in retail for over 30 years and if reputable company they will have taken it seriously 

    As you complaint was by email they won't be able to have compensated you with goodwill gesture as they don't have your details 

    As above what would you see as a satisfactory solution 

    You can always take it further and contact their head office customer service 
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 54,474 Disability Gamechanger
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    Ross_Scope said:
    Your reasoning for wanting to keep your mask on should be respected.
    Normnally I would agree with that but not for this reason. The person was asking for the mask to be removed for ID purposes.

    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
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  • bcrabl
    bcrabl Community member Posts: 4 Listener
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    To be honest the worst part was the humiliation when they shouted out that their parent had the same condition as well for everyone waiting behind me to hear and then refusing to serve me.
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  • MarkM88
    MarkM88 Community member Posts: 3,127 Connected
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    bcrabl said:
    To be honest the worst part was the humiliation when they shouted out that their parent had the same condition as well for everyone waiting behind me to hear and then refusing to serve me.
    That is obviously the unacceptable aspect. I know you have complained and received a response. However you still seem unhappy. What else would you like to happen? 
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  • bcrabl
    bcrabl Community member Posts: 4 Listener
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    @MarkN88

    I honestly don't know I just feel really let down by the way it happened and I feel like the generic email I received was very unfeeling, they didn't address the humiliation I felt and that as far as they were concerned the matter was closed
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  • MarkM88
    MarkM88 Community member Posts: 3,127 Connected
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    bcrabl said:
    @MarkN88

    I honestly don't know I just feel really let down by the way it happened and I feel like the generic email I received was very unfeeling, they didn't address the humiliation I felt and that as far as they were concerned the matter was closed
    Have they got a formal complaints procedure you could follow? 

    Maybe a trip to speak to the store manager might help? 

    I used to work in management in a supermarket and it was often better to deal with customer complaints in store than them been passed through head office teams. 

    Apart from that I can’t see anything else you can do. 
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  • bcrabl
    bcrabl Community member Posts: 4 Listener
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    MarkN88 said:
    bcrabl said:
    @MarkN88

    I honestly don't know I just feel really let down by the way it happened and I feel like the generic email I received was very unfeeling, they didn't address the humiliation I felt and that as far as they were concerned the matter was closed
    Have they got a formal complaints procedure you could follow? 

    Maybe a trip to speak to the store manager might help? 

    I used to work in management in a supermarket and it was often better to deal with customer complaints in store than them been passed through head office teams. 

    Apart from that I can’t see anything else you can do. 
    Thank you for the advice, I might try this.
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  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,688 Disability Gamechanger
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    I'm also not sure what you wanted to acheive, yes it was handled badly but definately not discrimination, you received an appology. If I was you I would now take my custom elsewhere.
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

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  • wilko
    wilko Community member Posts: 2,458 Disability Gamechanger
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    so sounds like a mountain out of a mole hill situation, we have only heard read one side of the story and enough has been said written about it. The assistant was in her right to ask you to verify your identity, you being awkward made matters worst so it’s best left as it is .
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  • Cher_Alumni
    Cher_Alumni Scope alumni Posts: 5,741 Disability Gamechanger
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    @bcrabl I'm sorry to hear about your experience.  It does sound like it was the reaction from the shop assistant that you found more-so upsetting than being asked to temporarily remove your mask and you did the right thing in leaving the store if you felt that was best for you at the time.  

    A face to face conversation can sometimes help bring about the 'closure' needed to move on from incidents, so speaking with the Store Manager as suggested, might be something to think about and explore.

    @wilko I appreciate your words, that we can't assume to understand an entire situation from hearing only one account.  However, I think we also need to heed caution in describing someone's reaction as 'awkward' based on similarly limited insight.  As per our house rules, please remember to 'Keep it friendly':
    We want our community to be a safe and supportive place.
    Please make sure your messages respect others’ views and suggestions, even if you do not agree with them.
    Please be careful what you say. Not everyone shares the same sense of humour!
    Just a final note to say - I hope the lottery ticket you buy next is a lucky one @bcrabl :) 
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