To the Editor:
I would like to make known an ugly incident I was involved in with the Co-op bookstore. On Thursday, Feb 13. I was browsing through those gold and silver wax letter seals that they now have in stock. I proceeded to shop around the upper and main level of the store with a friend for about another half hour to 45 minutes, which included a stop in Irene's. We were not aware that bringing Co-op merchandise in before paying for it was prohibited because we never go there. After my friend finished her bagel (I had nothing) we made our way towards the stairs until a student worker stopped us and told us that in the future we would have to make our purchases first. We both promptly apologized and continued on. Within seconds, another worker (not a student) decided we needed to hear it twice and in a very accusatory tone told us that what we did was not allowed and that there was a "big sign" there. (The sign, in fact, is at a complete 90 degree angle to the entrance and is taped to a cupboard where it blends in with several other signs.) Holding back my disapproval at her condescending manner, I apologized yet again and explained that we didn't realize.
Finally, I went up to make my purchase which included a silver letter seal. The same woman was suddenly standing at the register as I approached the counter. The student cashier picked up the seal, and being unsure of the price, he asked her how much it was. She quoted the price for the gold seal, at which point I intervened to tell her that another worker had told me that the silver seals were a different price. She then went on a third degree interrogation, asking me where the gold seal I had was that she was sure she saw me with. Taken aback, I simply replied that perhaps I was looking at a gold seal but had taken a silver one in the end. She then informed me that they had counted the seals after I looked at them and found one to be missing. Getting angry, I offered to empty my pockets to which she replied that I could if I wanted to. I asked her if she was accusing me of stealing the seal but she couldn't quite say yes because she had no proof. In the end she told the cashier to finish my purchase without so much as an apology.
Needless to say, I was furious at being treated as a guilty delinquent right in the middle of being a dutiful, paying customer. No matter what kind of shop lifting problems they have, the Co-op bookstore does not have the right to accuse students of stealing based on suspicion with no real evidence and also does not have the right to accuse students of lying when they maintain their innocence. I also do not appreciate being watched like a hawk and followed around the store like a criminal. Every customer deserves to be treated with a decent amount of respect, which this employee denied me from the beginning. The Co-op bookstore has such a monopoly on student business, making it near impossible to boycott or protest against, and I feel that they are taking advantage of that luxury and violating student rights. I am by no means asserting that this particular worker is a representative of the entire staff and board of the Co-op, but as an employee she comes off as a reflection of the attitudes and methods used by the Co-op in training their workers for these types of situations. Her behavior was inexcusable. I am not looking for any compensation for this incident, I just think the campus should be aware that injustices like these are occurring and that students need to tell the Co-op that this type of treatment will not be tolerated.
Copyright © 1997, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 15; February 21, 1997
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