A client with cancer was denied access to Galeries Lafayette in Toulouse because she refused to remove her cap. An incident that moved the web.
“Shameful”, “lamentable”, “scandalous” … The case caused an uproar and caused a lot of reaction on social networks. On February 6, a vigil from Galeries Lafayette in Toulouse refused to allow a mother suffering from cancer to enter the store, because of her hat. To enter, she must remove it. The client tries to explain to the security guard that she wants to keep him to hide the lack of hair. Without success. “Mom, you just wanted to have fun, by buying yourself a brooch to put on your hat to look more cheerful, but instead you left this collapsed, humiliated sign”, gets carried away on Facebook his daughter who accompanied him. The message was shared over 28,000 times in just 3 days.
Very quickly, department store accounts were flooded with messages from angry customers. Some even call for a boycott. To calm the anger of Internet users, the management posted an apology on Facebook the next day, and contacted the client and her daughter. “The very serious information concerning the reception and mistreatment of a customer at the Toulouse store is shocking. We strongly condemn these actions which in no way reflect the values of our brand, ”writes Didier Drahon, store manager in Toulouse.
“It’s an excess of zeal”
On her profile, the young woman also praised the reaction of management. “She has shown good faith by offering us their sincere apologies and we will meet them shortly.”
At the same time, the spokesperson indicated that “investigations were underway to find out the identity of the one who was at fault”. According to her, this incident is linked to the Vigipirate plan. “Since its inception, some security guards have the right to ask visitors to remove anything that could cover their faces, but it has never gone so far. It is an excess of zeal, we will act accordingly ”.
Questioned by AFP, the director of Galeries Lafayette in Toulouse, however, ruled out the possibility of dismissing this agent. “The important thing is to give clear instructions again and that this does not happen again. Anyone can make mistakes, ”he explained.
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