Valeria H.
Yelp
BLACK WOMEN BEWARE!
I moved to the neighborhood (Bushwick, Bklyn) 10 years ago and have shopped at this establishment from time to time. I noticed that the owner is ALWAYS perched at the raised counter behind the register and that he NEVER interacts with customers, who, are generally, black women. I also observed that he was quite standoffish, demonstrating no warmth whatsoever but I shrugged it off. On 2-3 occasions I witnessed him being verbally rude to customers . . . black women customers but again I shrugged it off . . . until it happened to me today. After paying I checked my change and receipt and noticed that I was missing .24 cents so I stopped alongside the counter and checked the receipt and the bills in my hand and noticed that I did not have the .24 cents so I turned to him and very calmly asked if he had given me the .24 cents. Immediately he started rattling off numbers which had nothing to do with my purchase so I asked him what he was talking about. He raised his voice and became belligerent. Then he rewound his camera, which of course only he could see and said that he gave me a quarter and that I should check before I complain. I said, 'I was not complaining. I asked you a simple question.' He kept going on an on so I told him that although his workers is nice he is an a-hole and is always an a-hole and I walked out. When I got home and threw everything out of the bag, the quarter was at the bottom of the bag. So it appears that either he or I dropped it in there with the receipt. And, to top it all off, the wig that I was sold was nothing like the one on the manequin head. I called and told the sales girl about the issue and she blamed the wig company. Anyway, I was so disgusted I decided not to return and will give the wig away or donate it to a cancer organization. Nevertheless, the issue here is his demeanor. He fails to understand that he needs us more than we need him and that it is Black women who have kept food on his family's table and kept his little store open. He also fails to understand that there is something called the power of the pen and that my COMPLAINT will not end here but with my council member, Rafael Espinal, and beyond. He failed today to understand that he was dealing with a black woman who just so happens to be an attorney. Do not give this man any of your money. There is another beauty supply close to Cooper Avenue and one on Broadway and Grove where we receive better treatment.