Coping with Marketplace Discrimination: An Exploration of the Experiences of Black Men."

Academy of Marketing Science Review, 2003 by Grier, Sonya A, Williams, Jacqueline A

James: You walk into a store and some undercover guy is following you around. I just call them over and say, "If you're going to follow me why don't you help me shop?" It makes them laugh and they feel embarrassed.

I: What made you decide that was the best way?

James: ... That way I'm not uncomfortable and maybe they'll learn not to judge people who look a certain way, and all is well at the end. Or, [I] just make them feel as uncomfortable as they're making me feel. I know they're watching me and they're supposed to be undercover.

Central to profile-based discriminatory attributions is the notion that surveillance is triggered by the presence of an African American male without regard to individual differences in his likelihood of committing crime. Consequently, legitimate concerns about crime are imposed as a cost on all African American male shoppers, often generating feelings of discomfort, embarrassment, and anger. As a response, James directly and publicly acknowledges surveillance personnel as a way to redistribute the costs of crime prevention. Through direct contact with store personnel he in essence announces his intention not to shoplift, or commit some other crime. But he also subverts the traditional relationship from one where paid staff observes customers to deter them from shoplifting, to one where he observes staff to deter them from watching him, sometimes interjecting humor as a way to "humanize us both." Store personnel, based on unconscious biases or explicit training, can be embarrassed by their use of racial cues when their use is made apparent.

A second problem-focused strategy is the use of formal complaints about unacceptable treatment. Robert complained to a store manager about being followed in a department store.

Robert: And so from that point on they were all over me... I mean, I could tell the people were watching me and that they sensed shoplifting. If you suspect someone's shoplifting you put a salesperson in their face. So from that point on, I had a salesperson all over. I went from not getting any help to way too much. And I felt harassed by that situation - harassed and pissed off I guess. So I ended up calling the store manager over it, and having a discussion with the store manager about my experience...

I: What made you decide to approach the store manager versus leaving or something like that?

Robert: Because I felt if I would have left, my message wouldn't have been heard by anyone. [...] I think I was so incensed by that action, because it rarely happens, and then I was so upset I had to talk. I was so pissed off, she probably thought, "Why is this man mumbling?" Because I was so upset that I really couldn't communicate well... And I wanted to try to - instead of storming out of the store, I wanted to express my concerns to the manager... I'm real good about talking to someone. I usually voice my concerns. Either voice them or write a letter.

I: And what impact do you think that has?

Robert: I think it's an awareness issue. I think that even though their actions might not change, probably the biggest impact is being able to release that feeling from me. And I think it's just an awareness issue. I think that more people need to voice [their] concerns to people who can actually count. The salesperson usually can't make any decisions yea or nay, but I think if you've got some concerns you need to let some people, policy people, know about the concerns - people who set policy, people who train the [employees]. And so I find myself being a stickler for customer service because of all my [negative] experiences from restaurants to retail have usually been with customer service.