“What exactly?”
The manager sat.
The owner remained standing.
“Customers being profiled.”
The manager nodded.
“Complaints?”
“Yes.”
“By staff?”
“And customers.”
“How many?”
“I don't know.”
The owner’s voice sharpened.
“You manage the flagship.”
“How do you not know?”
“Because not everything stays in our system.”
The owner stared.
“What does that mean?”
The manager looked toward the closed door.
Then back.
“The regional office removes some.”
The owner said nothing.
The manager continued.
“Not deletes.”
“Reclassifies.”
“As what?”
“Service concerns.”
“Client misunderstandings.”
“Security consultations.”
The owner felt her hands go cold.
The company dashboard.
Customer discrimination complaints:
Three in twelve months.
Three.
She had thought the number seemed suspiciously low.
That was why she had begun reviewing stores personally.
Not undercover.
Not exactly.
She had not hidden her identity from employees deliberately.
She simply had not announced her visit.
This flagship had been the first.
The manager continued.
“Complaints involving race are rarely coded as discrimination unless the customer uses those exact words.”
“Who created that rule?”
“Regional compliance.”
The owner stared.
“No.”
“That isn't company policy.”
“I know.”
“Who told you?”
The manager looked uncomfortable.
“The regional vice president.”
The owner knew him.
White man.
Fifty.
Fifteen years with the company.
Trusted.
Strong revenue.
Excellent customer-retention numbers.
His region also had the lowest discrimination complaints in the company.
Suddenly that metric looked different.
The owner sat across from the manager.
“Start at the beginning.”
The manager inhaled slowly.
“Luxury retail has always had loss-prevention profiles.”
The owner’s eyes narrowed.
“Behavioral profiles.”
“Yes.”
“Not demographic.”
“Officially.”
“Unofficially?”
The manager looked away.
The answer was enough.
The owner waited.
The manager said:
“Some longtime clients pressure associates.”
“Pressure how?”
“They point out shoppers.”
“Like today.”
“Yes.”
“They say certain people make them uncomfortable.”
“Certain people.”
The manager swallowed.
“Black customers.”
“Younger customers.”
“People dressed casually.”
“People they assume cannot afford the products.”
The owner’s jaw tightened.