I want to be clear that writing a negative review and publicly posting a video was never my first choice. After receiving the police footage, I reached out privately to customer service, the local store, and several people in the company by email, simply requesting that they apologize to my sister. Unfortunately, despite giving them ample time to respond, I haven't received any response. It's disappointing that a situation that could have been resolved with basic decency has been ignored, but I suppose it's hardly surprising.
On the evening of April 2nd, my younger sister, who navigates the world with certain differences, entered the Painted Tree Boutique in Moore, OK, picked out some clothes, and spent some time in the dressing room. Over an hour, in fact. She carried with her a bag of personal clothing because, like many people who don't drive, she takes necessities with her. As a courtesy, she left the bag outside the dressing room. While this may be considered odd, it certainly isn't, as the staff apparently believed, proof of criminal intent.
Unfortunately, rather than approaching her with understanding or even the most basic curiosity, the staff at the Painted Tree in Moore chose instead to call the police. When law enforcement arrived, presumably expecting to confront a shoplifter, they were informed by the staff that the contents of her bag were store merchandise and that tags had been removed. This was a false accusation, and one that the officers quickly disproved, noting that all of the items in the bag had either been previously worn or were from labels that are specific to Target.
At this point, most people would expect an apology or, at the very least, a retraction. But no, despite the clear evidence that there had been no theft, no threat, nothing whatsoever to justify their actions, the staff persisted in having her removed. It wasn't enough for them to be wrong; they had to be wrong and vindictive.
While I respect that any business has the legal right to ask someone to leave, and I acknowledge that the police were simply fulfilling that request, legality isn't an excuse for appalling customer service, and it certainly is not a moral justification.
Later, the manager called my mother and attempted to sweep the incident under the rug with a shallow apology, blaming everything on her employees and insisting that things would have been handled differently had she been present. A convenient explanation, if it were true. Police body camera footage I obtained (This video can be seen on YouTube by searching "Painted Tree (Moore, OK) has police remove customer even after realizing she wasn't shoplifting") clearly shows she was involved in real time, constantly on the phone with the same employees she would later scapegoat.
This isn't just bad customer service. It's evidence of poor character and, when it came time to take responsibility, cowardice.
This business owes my sister an apology. A real one, without any excuses, equivocations, or disclaimers.
My advice to anyone reading this is to take your...
Read moreI purchased a set of Devereux Bedding Luxary sheets for a family member for Christmas, which turned out to be the incorrect size. I attempted to return them to the Painted Tree in Moore and they refused saying they had a 2 day return policy, despite the item being currently in stock and it was not a seasonal item. The two girls that assisted me were very rude and would not offer any additional options. This is a ridiculous policy for a business and their customer service is...
Read moreWouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. My friend was in here shopping for an outfit & trying clothes on and they called the police on her while she was in the dressing room and tried to accuse her of stealing which she would never do. The cops showed up and searched her and told her she was trespassed for absolutely no reason. Taking pictures of her and trying to have her sign a citation. This is WRONG in so many ways and I hope you never do this to anyone...
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