My family and I recently visited the LensCrafters location at Deptford Mall, and what should have been a routine shopping experience turned into one of the most uncomfortable retail experiences we’ve ever had.
I visited with my fiancé and my adult son to look at Ray-Ban frames. We had previously been told that a particular frame style might not work for my prescription, but we wanted to explore other options and ask a few questions. When we arrived, there was only one other customer being assisted. Rob welcomed us, and we explained what we were looking for. He politely told us to take our time and let him know when we were ready.
While we were browsing frames, an employee named Christy stopped assisting her customer, looked directly at my son and me, pointed in our direction, and whispered something, all I could make out was to” watch them” to Rob while motioning toward us. This occurred in plain view of another customer. I was looking directly at the interaction and immediately asked, “Is there an issue?” Rather than addressing the situation, she quickly turned her attention back to her customer.
There was no misunderstanding about what happened. Later, Rob apologized for the experience, which confirmed that what I witnessed was inappropriate.
What makes this even more disappointing is that we have been customers of this location for years and have never experienced anything like this before. During a previous visit, Christy was already dismissive, snappy, and unwilling to provide any meaningful explanation as to why the original frames would not work for my prescription. Her attitude was unprofessional and unhelpful.
In contrast, Rob took the time to thoroughly explain why certain frames would not work and provided guidance on brands and styles that would be a better fit. Brittany was also extremely helpful in tightening our current glasses and replacing the nose pads. Their professionalism and customer service were appreciated.
Unfortunately, those positive interactions do not erase what occurred. I left feeling racially profiled and closely monitored while simply shopping for eyeglasses. Even while assisting multiple customers, Christy appeared far more focused on watching us than serving the people she was helping.
As a disabled veteran, I choose to spend my money where my family is valued and respected, not where we are treated with suspicion because of the color of our skin.
Because of this experience, LensCrafters has lost a loyal household customer. Our family typically purchases approximately eight pairs of designer eyeglasses each year, and we will be taking our business elsewhere.
I hope management takes this feedback seriously and addresses both the customer service concerns and the apparent racial profiling that occurred during our visit.
