Burlington — Local services in New York

There seems be a common theme of lack of professionalism and training in some of these stores and convinced should just stay away from certain department stores in certain communities / cultures if wanting to shop in peace.

The experiences with the staff in these stores is why many consumers including myself, choose online shopping over in-person shopping which at the end of day effects the stores and corporation's bottom line.

This is also why there has been a decrease in retail sales.

The stores kind of have the energy of Sears, Kmart, etc., both retailers that declined rapidly.

When shopping in Manhattan and other suburbs or affluent areas, I can shop in peace.

But when shopping in certain parts of Brooklyn or Queens where there are more "poc," the shopping experience can be unsafe, chaotic, uncouth, and lack a sense of boundaries and professionalism at times because of staff.

In one store, the staff started targeting me because I did not "comply" to their inappropriate advances.

That experience was so horrifying corporate had to get involved.

I have been a loyalty customer for years in many states across the US and thoroughly enjoy finding bargain items as an avid bargain shopper.

However, I am appalled at being stalked and harassed by the staff at these stores. I was literally followed from floor to floor on last Thursday afternoon, and actually stopped to talk to the personnel and ask what was going on because it made me feel unsafe and uncomfortable.

Didn't understand their intentions and that is alarming.

Usually stop at the stores after my daily runs and to take a break from my already busy schedule and as a woman, I should be able to shop in peace without being stalked or harassed or treated poorly by staff just because they have no other job responsibilities.

Usually in running clothes and not in usual business attire, but that still should not warrant the unprofessionalism from staff.

I am thinking maybe it's a cultural / community thing, like maybe this is how people in these communities engage with and treat each other??

It seems that in some communities / cultures, being quiet, reserved, and staying to oneself is not welcomed and leads to being a target and met with aggression.

Really not sure, to be honest and not my responsibility to understand, but as marketing professional who strives to make it a point to treat everyone with kindness and respect, will not spend money or time in environments and cultures where harassment and stalking are tolerated and encouraged by management and staff.

Creates hostile shopping experience and environment and customers should not have to subjected to that environment.

Unfortunately, believe this is the universe way of showing can't shop everywhere, regardless of bargain...

My first time ever experiencing being racially profiled, 3 store LP person's followed me to every single floor, every single aisle, every corner in of the store, literally stayed on my heels for 2 hours straight as i was shopping, it felt intimidating to have 3 male followed me around, every step while i literally just come to buy a few things to drown out the things I can't control, I already had a stressful day and this was me tuning in all out, yes they have a job to do and I'm very familiar with that job discretion professionally so when they started i ignored it and continued my shopping and allowed them to do their job but it's not their job to make the customer feel uncomfortable, as a customer i had the right to feel safe and enjoy my shopping experience but I felt so disrespected and uncomfortable, i observe and assessed my surroundings but eventually it got very overwhelming being followed by three men consistently, then I remember that it's illegal to walk while being black, it's illegal to shop while being black and illegal to live in a good neighborhood while being black, I have seen so many people lost their lives for much less in these situations so I went to see the manager because at this point I'm afraid someone is going to play a hero so, I speak to the manager, he apologize but it was not enough for what I experienced and I cancelled my Burlington credit card right away, I have a few outfits i buy last week, I really want them but i respect myself enough to return them tomorrow and get my money back. My black money will never be spent in Burlington again. When will it be safe for us to walk in a store to shop and not automatically be profiled as a criminal? When all your doing is buying a few things to make yourself feel good about the things you can't change in life. I've heard people speak on situations like this but I had no idea how horrible it felt until i experienced it today. I will shop where i feel comfortable and can be respected as a valued customer and not get treated as a criminal, I was a valued customer and a card holder that never missed a payment and automatically they decided that i was a shop lifter and invaded my shopping...

It seems as though businesses don't really like the people in Queens and so they make no special effort to create an ambiance in their stores to attract customers. I wanted a plastic container to store some food stuff and I kept forgetting to pick stuff up when I visit Brooklyn. So I walked into Burlington when I got up the first floor I was aghast when I noticed the layout of the store. As you arrive at the top of the escalator you're confronted with shelves of frivolous stuff- nothing appealing I reluctantly walked in. Stuff were all over the store. To the left were racks of make up items and other 'stuff'. I walked about trying to find a staff member to direct me to where the containers were- I forgot that was my second visit because the first visit one security guard told me I would find it behind some area from the rows in front of me. There were no such shelves. I returned on this particular day to make another attempt to find these containers because I was desperate. On this visit after checking the isles of the first floor I went to the specific floor. I searched but there were none in the location of the house accessories. I tried to find help no one was available. I encountered a security guard chasing a Mexican kid out of the store- he seemed to have been stealing stuff. The store is so congested. As I walked about to see if the containers were beyond the household stuff and probably with the laundry stuff. I encountered another pile of mess there were toys and boxes from toys spread over the floor about a stretch of 40m. I couldn't find any place to walk. I just hissed my teeth and headed for the elevator. I was glad to me back in the streets because it seemed much palatable and safer than Burlington environment. I haven't been back since. If you like crowed, and disorganized shopping then Burlington, Jamaica Avenue, Queens is your best bet- why anyone would want to shop there, beats me! But everyone there seemed so...