‘Think before you act’ warning over ‘racial profiling’
A WINNERSH resident has warned the community to think before they act, after what he believes was an incident of racial profiling.
Ade Kass was shopping at Rahim Stores, on the Wokingham Road in Earley last month, and suspects that he was treated differently to other customers due to his skin colour.
Mr Kass said the till operator inspected his £20 closely, before accepting payment.
However a spokesperson for the company said the store has recently seen an increase in fake £20 notes, and are checking more heavily.
“I walked out, but then I thought of George Floyd, and I went back in to ask the manager about it,” Mr Kass said. “When I went back into the shop, the person in front of me paid in cash, and they didn’t question it.
“I explained to the manager that it’s only fair to treat people equally, but he brushed it aside.”
Mr Kass said he gave the manager back the goods he had purchased, and left the shop.
“I’ll never go back there again,” he said. “We need to be careful how we treat people. It’s subconscious, but we have to reflect on our subconscious. As a black person, I live this every day of my life.”
A spokesperson for Rahim Stores said: “Following a staff meeting, all employees who work at the tills were duly informed to check all cash notes but specifically £20 notes, as this is leaving the tills short on a regular basis.
“This specific customer, who is a regular customer of ours, purchased goods and went to the tills and handed a £20 cash note, which my staff member checked to ensure it was real.”
They said at the time, Mr Kass was unhappy and raised his concerns with the manager, who explained the new instructions to staff.
“I personally apologised to him if he felt offended due to the conduct of the specific member of staff, although he was merely carrying out his job with due diligence,” the spokesperson said.
“Our customer service is of a high standard and we care about customers and their feelings.
“Our stock is multi-cultural and we stock for almost all religions, faiths and cultures and hold the utmost respect for all our customers regardless of their race and religion.”
