ZARA — Local services in New York

RACIAL PROFILING AT THIS LOCATION BY “MARIAM”.. IF YOU ARE A PERSON OF COLOR, PLEASE DO NOT SHOP HERE.

During this time a lot may know fitting rooms are closed due to covid along with huge sales going on in store and online. I recently purchased jeans (that I wasn’t able to try on first) and tried them on at home. After realizing they were too tight, i put them back in the Zara bag to return. I came to this location to return the jeans (that did not fit me) because they were closest to me.. Next in line, before i got the chance to approach the counter a woman with a clear attitude written all over her face looked at my bag and shouted “card returns only..” I continued to approach the counter because I clearly understood but she stoped me again with her hand up and said “this is card returns only.” I then said “yes, I purchased with a card.” She goes on to ask if i “have the receipts” (before i can even tell her that the receipts are in the bag). Next she turns the bag over and dumps the jeans onto the counter. She unfolds the jeans 1 by 1 and raises them into the light to observe them. As she did this she continued to look back at me. She then says “um you cannot return this pair because they were worn”. I (in complete confusion) state that i have not worn them and just tried them on. She says “well someone wore them because they have wrinkles.” In the midst of me still trying to explain to her that they were not worn and just tried on she immediately begins to nod her head no and cut me off, telling me that i or someone else wore them. After stating over and over that they were not worn and were put in the bag after trying them on. I ask to speak to the manager because i was literally being accused of something NOT TRUE without any further solution and evidence besides WRINKLES. The woman then states that she “is the manager” and “nobody can help me, call customer service.” About 5 minutes into being falsely accused and embarrassed by her i took my phone out to type down her name. When asking for her name she sarcastically smirked and said “Mariam.” I asked for her full name and she said “you don’t need to know that, everyone knows me.” I said “who knows you?” She says “whoever you’re gonna speak with will know who Mariam is.” (still with a sarcastic smirk) I then asked to see a name tag because she was giving off sarcasm and I didn’t know what to believe. She denied by saying again that “everyone knows her because she is the only mariam.” That is when I decided taking a picture of her would be easier for proof of who she was in which she then ran off to another employee and said “she’s taking a picture of me”.. The entire time i was uncomfortable and felt like i was being interrogated by this woman, FOR A PAIR OF JEANS. Never have i been rudely accused of wearing something and denied a return (due to wrinkles that jeans normally have if they are not folded properly and are sitting in a bag) until now. The way this woman went about this from the very beginning truly makes me believe HOW I LOOKED played a huge part in her behavior and attitude... Disgusting.

CRAZY UPDATE: Soo the following day i went to a different Zara location and was able to return the jeans with NO PROBLEM AT ALL + a bonus smile and greeting! That says EVERYTHING.

*If u purchase anything from this Zara make sure u take pictures of how the items look before and after trying on. Matter fact, it’ll probably just be easier to record the whole try on process. 🥴 Oh and BIPOC, beware...

The employees here were horrendously unprofessional I am actually disgusted by my experience.... I should’ve gotten the employees name but I genuinely was so shocked I didn’t get a chance to... I picked up a dress and it didn’t have a price on it so I looked at the dress behind found the price and went on shopping... when I got to the register they rang up and they rang up for a different price in the price that was on the dress behind it... and the new price was more expensive... I just noted and let her know that this happened and wanted to make sure I purchased it for the correct price... the cashier had TWO coworkers next to her all simply standing around.... they then instruct me to go find the dress myself and bring it to them so that they can stand around instead of going to grab it.... if that’s not already extremely unprofessional and being at ZARAs i know form experience that they ussually call their coworker to find the item they ask me to find it with a huge line three employees standing around gossiping.... I grab the dress because I’m not going to be rude and I’m the one with the question and I bring it... they hold their hand up and make me wait for them to finish their gossip before they help me.... then I show them the dress and another tag with a different price and let me remind you MY DRESS HAS NO PRICE (so basically they need to choose what price to give me) they verbatim say to me “we can only give you the dress with the lower price even though it’s not your size and your dress we will only give to you for the more expensive price”... which having worked in retail is not true... I took my dress because i don’t even know if it fits because of the fitting rooms are closed and I may have to return i wasn’t gonna haggle over $10 for a dress i may not care but I definitely will not be going back to the store and they really need to re-train their employees at...

I am appalled at the way Black people are treated at this location. I presented a receipt for two shirts ($49.99 each - total $99.98 ) that I chose to return. The shirts were in perfect condition with tags on. The items were purchased on 8/18 - 32 days before. The same items were still being sold at this location for the same price. I chose to return the items and purchase 2 new items totaling $109.00. I was told that I was not permitted to make the return. The manager stated that no returns ware accepted beyond 30 days. Despite this, I still decided to purchase the two items for $109. Getting a printed receipt was a protracted process because the salesclerk refused to provide the manager’s name but insisted that I get the print out from a manager on the upper level. Two customers quietly informed me that this policy did not apply to everyone because they had returned items beyond the 30 day period.

As I approached the store’s exit, I witnessed a young Black man in distress. He stated that he purchased a pair of black pants a few days before at the same store, yet the manager, had the pants removed from his backpack, and after scanning the item, accused him of stealing the item. She refused to give him the pants back. He did not have a receipt because he made the purchase days before. At that time, he did not provide a telephone number at check out. He begged the store to review its camera footage to follow his path in the store. The manger refused to conduct a review and would not return the pants to him.

I offered to purchase the pants but the young man stated that he didn’t want to purchase the item twice. This respectful young man had just worked a 12 hour shift at a hospital. He showed me his ID and the scrubs he wore at work. My heart hurt for him! I would never want this to happen to either of my sons.

PLEASE SHOP...