Black Cat Minerals — Attraction in Gurnee

i as a fellow crystal lover and a local of this mall have been searching for a good crystal shop after the one on the opposite side of the mall had run out and the worker there suggested black cat minerals to me. at first i loved it. i was always greeted by a sweet ginger with short hair who would always say something kind to me. i ended up falling in love with the store. spent tons of money on jewelry, crystals, incense, and more. i had took some cousins from out of town to visit as well and even told all of my fellow crystal loving friends to come check it out. it became my top store i had to visit at least once every time i made a trip to this mall. however that was soon to change due to my most rent visit with my cousin. i am a worshiper of the goddess Aphrodite and was simply there for some rose water as an offering to her. since this was my first time purchasing rose water from there i was a bit confused on where to find it. thinking it would be in the back where most of their sprays are kept, i was searching and moving a few objects around. then i noticed a short blonde lady “rearranging” some shelves while eyeing my cousin and i. i thought nothing of it since i had only good intentions and nothing to be scared of. i then went up to her and asked to some assistance with finding the rose water. she helped me to find what i need and told me all about the rose water. i thought she gave me all of the information i needed. then i was helping my cousin pick out a bracelet while i noticed her catching a few glances more. it was her first time coming so she was curious and just wanted to look at the things they had to offer. once we paid she then continued to tell me how their would be a difference between paying with card and paying with cash. then again, i thought i had all the information about the rose water. my cousin and i paid then walked out before an alarm went off and i could tell from the way this women walked from behind her desk she was satisfied she had caught us doing something. i instantly back up as she makes her way to my cousin and i saying “so is there something we forgot to pay for?” i immediately feel my anxiety kicking in looking for the easiest way to prove my innocence. “we can let you look through out pockets and bags” i suggest. “well no, i don’t wanna look through your pockets.” responds the lady. i begin thinking of another idea and hand my bag of rose water to the lady and walked away. no beeping. next my cousin. no beeping. we clearly had nothing on us that was stolen. then she looks to my bag and says “oh. you know what it might be..” and begins taking off a sticker from my rose water and talks about how the manager puts something under the sticker to make extra sure it doesn’t get stolen. okay, fair. but she had plenty of opportunities to inform me about it instead of waiting it out to make me look like a thief. as much as i love this store i am certain i will return. i’ve never been more uncomfortable in a store i love the most. this was either a strong disliking to teenagers as i’ve seen other young teenagers come on here and rant on how a short blonde lady also has accused them, or it could do with her seeing me as a threat being a person of color....

Today I was told that my sister went into this store, she has always come here & I would too, just to buy bracelet. But today she went in with my son, my son is a 3 year old that likes to pick up rocks from anywhere. It’s either the park or street. He likes to pick them up because as any other kid they have any type of collection, it’s either leaf’s, sticks, bugs, etc. my kids collections is apparently rocks. He tends to always grab any type of rock. So today there was an incident where my son saw rocks, mind you this is the first time he has ever come in this store, but he took rocks & put them in his pocket. The lady in this store yelled at my sister & accused her of making my son steal rocks for her. I’m sorry but 1. Who’s going to be stealing rocks?!?!?! & 2. He’s just a kid. A kid that likes to pick up rocks for his collection. I understand that that’s something that my son has to be taught about & have him understand that it’s wrong to do that in stores. But accusing someone of making a little kid steal some rocks is ridiculous. You don’t just go and accuse someone of stealing. How hard is it to respectfully go towards someone & tell them “hey, I just notice that your kid was putting rocks in his pockets. That’s something he shouldn’t be doing” or “just to let you know, please keep your kids hands to himself.” Or at least inform the adult. Also, at least give them the chance to explain. I will for sure not be coming back to this place. It was very unprofessional & disrespectful to just go around & accuse people of such thing. I’m not sure if it has anything to do with my race but sadly this will definitely not be my place to...

This use to be my favorite place to shop for my minerals/crystals. So much that I have raved and reccomended it to many others who have the same love for the metaphysical. I have spent hundreds of dollars in that store probably about a thousand if I put all the years together. I will no longer spend my money there. I went with my mother today and felt very unwelcomed by both employees there. When we strolled in to the store we weren't acknowledge which is w.e they were busy with other things I guess. What felt off was when we started looking at rings one employee came and started acting as if she was "arranging" things next to us which made us feel uncomfortable. She didn't ask if we needed help so I just asked her so that she knew we were there to buy not steal. My mother felt so uncomfortable that she didn't even want to keep looking. I get that its the mall and others have probably stolen i have no doubt, but at least say hi to your customers and make them feel appreciated and not like criminals. There was more to this visit that really turned me off from ever coming back. Just as I raved to others about this store I will definitely let them know about our experience. Thank you for the years that I did use your store for my work tools. I will not be...