Vons

My wife and I went to the VONS store 2131 on wednesday,10-11-2023 to pick up some lottery tickets at around 6:40 PM. The assistant manager on duty was not happy to see us, and she (I think her name is Jennefer) was shouting at me that I have to wait for her to check out several customers first with a new chexk-out lane. My wife and I were embarrassed by her rude attitude in the store full of customers.
She has been rude before, but this is the worst.

Everytime I go shopping at this store i always have expired food . I have brought the food back and they replace only that item and don't even receive an apology. This is getting out of control and I go here all the time cause I love the store but it seems like I'm wasting money now . I would like something to be done for this inconvenience that keeps happening and also my family has been sick twice and I want able to return food as we already are it and they did nothing for me this is ridiculous . Please contact me so we can get something handled. Thank you .

If I can rate this experience a -0 I definitely would. I was profiled, singled out because I was black, verbally and physically attacked by one mgr and staff member on a routine visit to vons. I guess you can't go grocery shopping, being black, dressed completely down, with a scarf on your head. I guess I looked like I didn't belong, maybe perceived as a welfare recipient on cash aid so I must not be able to afford anything here, maybe that's the reason I was humiliated, disrespected, demeaned, attacked, had my "paid" for bags snatched out my baskets and then from my hands twice for no reason at all but shopping while black and not up to their expectations of dress code.. Here's what happened. I shopped, paid for my goods, approached starbucks and seen an empty basket and used it due to an injury on my shoulder.

Upon leaving the store, the basket stalled and wheels locked. I immediately got the attention of the last cashier happen to be a mgr, asked for her to unlock the wheels so I can proceed out the door, she saw me, she helped more customers so I waited, line accumulated at the door. I share with the folks in back of me and signal for mgt again to get help with basket, I needed it and was having a hard time carrying groceries, mgr finally walks over after a few min. I was thinking great now I can take my basket to the car. Instead, mgr walks up to me, looks me up and down from head to toe, looks at my basket, and I say the "basket stopped" I need you to fix it, instead she says "where did you come from"? Obviously, extremely puzzled why she's asking me this, I said "what do you mean", she said in a more "authoritative" voice and very accusatory. I was definitely confused as to why i'm being interrogated and treated this was! I mean I simply "flagged her for help"! Then asked me did I come from starbucks etc. Now i'm thinking what's wrong with this picture, why is she asking me these questions, I just asked for help why am I being interrogated and being made to feel as if i've done something wrong. So I finally say I came from a register down there then she says which one then I say i'm not really sure which number but what does it really matter I am trying to take my groceries to the car? She then looks at me and then looks at the basket and snatches my bag out of the basket her and I get into a tug-of-war over "my paid" merchandise that she tried to take from meand then take out of my hand. As this is occurring I was able to take the bag back from her. I stated "what are you doing, this is my paid merchandise get your hands off of me get your hands off of my things, why are you attacking me? As I make that comment with the bag in my hand next thing you know someone else comes up from behind me and snatches the bag back out of my hand, jerking and pulling on the bag hurting my shoulder. As i'm trying to take a hold of my bag, and I become attacked and vons causing additional injury to my shoulder. Once I snatch my bag back from the second person I turn around and I started yelling at her with my finger and I said keep your hands off of me. I was so pissed because I just left kaiser from getting to injections in my shoulder for an injury, currently on modified duty because i'm not really able to drive.
I told them keep your hands off my merchandise, what the hell do you think you guys are doing? At this particular moment i'm still frozen in time, I can't even believe that this happened. I was so afraid that the situation is going to get out of hand and the police is going to be called for me defending myself. This could've been a tragic outcome if I wasn't in the headspace I was in and basically didn't physically defend myself.? Far too often in situations like this where"employees"overstep their boundaries and create this situation and customer reacts the burden of proof is on that individual and people become hurt or killed by the police for things like this escalating!

I'm thankful to god for the injury because it saved things from getting out of hand.. My question to vons where's your mgt and staffs's responsibility to deescalate? Are they taught to physically pith their hands on customers or call security? And then security's job is to observe and report, what the hell happened here?

So I was definitely profiled (incorrectly) and not to mention I have a paid receipt. Why do I have to even show a receipt in the beginning because what was the reason for approaching me in that manner is my question...
What was the reason for attacking me and trying to steal my merchandise when I paid for it. I mean why are they being fired and held accountable for stealing my paid merchandise? Dosen't it work both ways? I can't get over it, what was the reason for attacking me in that moment when i've done nothing wrong but I asked for some help.

Please be where you cannot be black, where a scarf, with some flip-flops going to vons in the middle of the day and pay for groceries without having to be a black thief who steals, looks like they're on the county collecting ebt, or on welfare. Basically I look like I did not belong in the store and that's the reason I got treated that way. Now let me share with you that I frequent at that vons and i've seen other people get stuck trying to go out the door and i've never seen them being profiled, disrespected, attacked, humiliated, or even stop to ask about a receipt.

Why did I have to be put in a situation, definitely because i'm black? Thank god my arm was injured and I didn't have the opportunity to naturally react with this lady attacking me from behind. That could've turned into an even more of a physical altercation and who would've been going to jail until they were able to prove; so the burden of proof would've been on me for two people who work for store who attacked, profiled, and humiliated me for no reason. I'm not sure about vons employee handbook but I don't think there's a section that says"take matters into your own hand physically " when dealing with customers.
I'm sure they shouldn't be attacking employees even if there was an indication of theft (please understand not the case, please see the video) which in this case the girl had no reason to think that because I was not on anybody's radar. There was no situation with security etc, it was me shopping while black. It was also me dressed down while black.

I was profiled of being a welfare recipient, cash aid recipient, an ebt recipient instead of being profiled for an educated black woman with one bachelors degree and two masters degree. But instead I have to prove myself, my innocence, become attacked, and have my bags taken from me. Somebody please help me understand this and i'm supposed to just get over it I don't think so. Vons you cannot allow your employees to profile, disrespect, demean, humiliate, and assault your customers. I'm sorry that I was shopping while black. Please believe if I was a little old white lady going out the door they would've never ever been a question of this person's character, who they are, if they're legit, anything but because I was black with a scarf on my head and some flip-flops I was made out to be a thief. I was profiled, attacked, assaulted, and humiliated please beware do not go to vons while black. #shoppingwhileblack #vons

To whom this may concern.

This product is dated 10/21/2018, and was still sitting on the shelves as of 1/10/2019. We purchased this item on 1/10/2019 and after becoming very sick the next day, we needed to throw the rest away. Vendors need to be held accountable at this location. This purchase was a waste of money and an endangerment to me and my guest's health.