Renae, who claims to be the store 'manager' at Big Lots #4485 (90th and Bangerter) kicked my kids out of the store because my 14 year old daughter was not using a chair to her standards, and then got 'mouthy' in her opinion. What the so-called ‘manager’ didn't know was that I was one aisle over and heard the entire conversation.
My 14 year old daughter was sitting on a floor model chair with one leg over the side. This employee asked my daughter to "sit like a lady". My daughter complied by setting her other foot on the ground, and responded with "Okay". Renae then snapped back by telling my daughter “There you go; now you’re acting like a normal person". My daughter told her she was a normal person, and that "you don't know me". This must have been what Renae found to be 'mouthy' because she proceeded to speak to my daughters in a very loud and even more condescending tone.
She asked if they “wanted to leave” and told them that “we can play it this way. Is this what you want? Well, is it?” Both of my daughters answered only with “no” more than once, but Renae was already calling security to escort them out. My 11 year old daughter told Renae she “had done nothing wrong” and that she needed to “get my mom”. Renae said "I know, but that’s too bad, you're with her (referring to her sister), you need to leave too." Then started shooing my daughters, waving her arms at them with a “Come on, let’s go, let’s go!”
She fully intended to send my minor daughters out into a parking lot without regard for their safety. She lacked concern for notifying or locating an accompanying parent or adult and denied my daughter the opportunity to do so. Fortunately, being an aisle over I was able to catch up and walk out with them.
I feel the store 'manager' thought my daughters were in the store alone, targeted them for that reason and looked for an excuse to kick them out. Renae said all of two sentences to my daughters before telling them to leave. I call that age discrimination, possibly sex discrimination, since my daughter’s ability/inability to sit the way Renae figures her gender should was at issue.
I have considered purchasing furniture from Big Lots in the past and was allowed to try it out before hand, that's what a floor model is for, right? I have never seen a diagram on how Big Lots customers are allowed to sit in a chair, more specifically how a lady should.
Is this 'managers' job to tell people how to behave if it’s just against her personal code of conduct? My daughter simply had her leg over the arm of the chair. I don’t believe that is against the law or destructive to store property. If this is damaging to the furniture in any way, that chair is poorly made and Big Lots should reconsider putting their name behind it.
If Renae has some type of degree that makes her an authority on identifying a normal and moral person it must also entitle her to belittle those who don’t measure up. After my daughter sat in the chair the way she was asked to Renae should have walked away and left it at that. Renae antagonized the situation and acted aggressively towards my children. At 14, 24 or 54 my daughter has every right to defend herself against someone personally attacking her.
I'll make sure to tell everyone I know about my bad experience, as it's well known that is exactly what dissatisfied customers do. I will post this on my Facebook and MySpace as well as any consumer blog I run across. I will never shop at Big Lots again. My daughters and I set down approximately 35 dollars worth of merchandise and hadn’t even made it half way through before exiting the store. At minimum wage, that's practically half of Renae's wages for an 8 hour shift. In today's economy I don't see how Big Lots can afford to employ people such as Renae, let alone promote them to 'manager'.