T.J. Maxx responded to allegations from a young Black shopper who asserted that she was racially profiled at a store in Wisconsin, sparking massive outrage online.
Sophia Madrid, who goes by @sofireee3 on TikTok, posted a tearful account on her page on Thursday detailing her recent shopping experience at a T.J. Maxx store in Racine, Wisconsin.
She claimed that she and her boyfriend visited the store to shop for purses. As she was browsing the purse section, she began to pick up several handbags in anticipation of making multiple purchases when she saw a number of workers pointedly staring at her and her boyfriend.
“They’re very off-putting,” she explains before her boyfriend recounts what he saw in the store.
“The lady at the front was staring at us as soon as we walked in,” the young lady’s boyfriend states, adding that several employees also approached the couple in quick succession to ask whether they needed help. “The lady who was at the front, she starts standing by the door like trying to guard it.”
Madrid adds that she overheard nearby associates contacting each other through their radios about monitoring her and her boyfriend.
As the couple continued to browse the store, Madrid stated that employees kept staring at them, approaching them to offer help, and continued to guard the door even after they went to the checkout line.
She goes on to say that she purchased four handbags, but is at a loss on whether she should return the items due to her poor shopping experience.
“I just feel so disrespected, like that was so dehumanizing,” Madrid says tearfully. “I felt so humiliated in that moment. I didn’t come here to be mistreated, I came here to shop for bags and now I don’t even want them anymore.”
Madrid’s video went viral overnight, attracting more than 8 million views and thousands of comments imploring her to report her experience to the retailer’s corporate team and return the bags she bought.
“Take those bags back immediately and let them know how disrespectful they were and speak to corporate as well,” one person commented.
“Girl return every single one at a different TJ Maxx and call corporate,” suggested one reader.
“As a Tj Maxx employee, I’m so sorry that you had to experience this,” another person wrote. “Please return the bag and get ur money back.”
“Definitely fill out the survey at the bottom of that receipt bc not only do the store managers see that, corporate does too,” one commenter suggested.
In a follow-up video, Madrid shared that she plans to return the items. She also made a report to the retailer and was sent a gift card and a phone number to report her experience to a customer service representative, but said that response wasn’t enough to remedy the situation.
“They offered us a $500 gift card, I feel like that’s a way of just kind of like, slapping the associates on the wrist and moving on,” Madrid said. “I don’t care how many times thefts have taken place at your store, you don’t get to falsely accuse people of color as soon as they walk in just because you assume that they are going to steal something.”
Madrid stated that she wants the retailer to issue better training for store associates on properly serving communities of color without enforcing stereotypical viewpoints.
“All we want is a heartfelt apology from the associates involved. We could care less about a gift card that we will ultimately never use,” Madrid wrote in the video caption. “We will NEVER be stepping foot in this establishment and supporting their business again.”
A 2021 report published by the State of Racial Profiling in American Retail revealed that more than 90 percent of Black shoppers experience racial profiling while buying or browsing. More than 1,000 Black consumers were surveyed, 52 percent of whom said they would refuse to revisit a shop after being profiled.
A T.J. Maxx spokesperson told Atlanta Black Star that store leaders have reached out to Madrid and expressed “sincere disappointment in her experience.”
“At TJ Maxx, we are committed to fostering an environment where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, and we deeply regret that the recent experience of our customer in our Racine store did not reflect this,” the spokesperson said. “We want to make this right. Our leaders have had multiple conversations with our customer to express our sincere disappointment in her experience and explain the actions we are taking to help ensure this does not happen again in our store. This includes a thorough review of what happened with the Associates involved as well as using this as an opportunity to speak with all of our Racine Associates about our expectations for proper customer engagement.”
