Oprah Winfrey Accuses Trois Pommes Clerk of Discrimination, Brand Rep Denies It

**llamamama** · August 10th, 2013, 10:45 PM

I'm as poor as dirt, so correct me if I'm wrong. This clerk was steering her to other less expensive bags, but I imagine these bags were also in the thousands of dollars range. So maybe the clerk never expected to ever sell that crocodile bag to anybody? Maybe it was just for show even in an upscale store like that? Or do they sell them all the time? Obviously the clerk thought she was wealthy enough to afford those other bags, and I suspect these were not $200 Coach bags we are talking about. Not that she isn't racist, just trying to understand the situation.

**Chalet** · August 11th, 2013, 12:11 AM

If it was crocodile and 35,000 dollars, I'd venture a guess that it was a Kieselstein-Cord handbag.

**dilligaf** · August 11th, 2013, 05:24 AM

Fuck Oprah. Where the hell is Peta??

**MmeVertigina** · August 11th, 2013, 06:01 AM

Originally Posted by dilligaf

Fuck Oprah. Where the hell is Peta??

That is one ugly bag.

**Belt Up** · August 11th, 2013, 06:07 AM

Fuck me, that's a very expensive piece of ugly

**CornFlakegrl** · August 11th, 2013, 08:00 AM

I kind of like the bag. It's like a tiny piece of furniture.

**funky_chicken** · August 11th, 2013, 08:20 AM

Well I know the shop she went to, I went to the shop a few years ago and we wanted to buy something for a friend who was really into brands and names during that time. So we were 5 or 6 people who wantes to buy a present together.
Together with a friend we entered the shop and not one of those b**** working there looked at us. I had to ask twice until someone came to us asking what we wanted. It was like we needed to be thankful to even be in the shop.
A minute after we entered the shop a very pompous Lady came into the shop, highheels, big blonde hairs and a fur stola. Two sales persons were right at her side the second she was in the shop.
Of course we left the shop without buying anything but that didn't bother them at all.
I really don't get this - yes, we were young and were dressed in jeans and shirt but how is our money worth less then someone else's?
I'm no fan of Oprah but it didn't surprise me at all when I heard that story and in what shop it happened - I hope the owner of this shop gets what she deserves.

**karat** · August 11th, 2013, 08:52 AM

Originally Posted by Novice

........ you're American? Right???

I am American, yes. I was born in India and my family moved the US when I was very young. Meaning I speak English fluently with an American accent and consider it my first language. But in places like London, where there are a lot of Indian immigrants, sometimes I get treated very differently than I do here in the US, i.e. the speaking to me slowly, etc. Usually once I start talking it gets better once they are convinced that I am not as stupid as they perhaps made me out to be. My husband, who is Caucasian American, does not get the same treatment, which leads me to believe that it mainly boils down to the fact that I am not white.

I could be wrong and perhaps it is just a cultural difference that I perceive as racism. I will say though that while there are racists in the US as well, it is truly one of the most tolerant countries in the world. And this goes for non-white countries as well, there is certainly a great deal of reverse racism that persists out there too.

**Chilly Willy** · August 11th, 2013, 09:06 AM

I witnessed lots of racism in Switzerland, I believe Oprah. If the employees at the store are bitchy anyway, they were probably even meaner to her.

That being said, croco handbags are gross.

**Novice** · August 11th, 2013, 09:27 AM

Originally Posted by karat

I am American, yes. I was born in India and my family moved the US when I was very young. Meaning I speak English fluently with an American accent and consider it my first language. But in places like London, where there are a lot of Indian immigrants, sometimes I get treated very differently than I do here in the US, i.e. the speaking to me slowly, etc. Usually once I start talking it gets better once they are convinced that I am not as stupid as they perhaps made me out to be. My husband, who is Caucasian American, does not get the same treatment, which leads me to believe that it mainly boils down to the fact that I am not white.

I could be wrong and perhaps it is just a cultural difference that I perceive as racism. I will say though that while there are racists in the US as well, it is truly one of the most tolerant countries in the world. And this goes for non-white countries as well, there is certainly a great deal of reverse racism that persists out there too.

I was referencing this thread http://www.gossiprocks.com/forum/lif...ach-other.html And the others based on the Oscar Wilde(?) quote "two nations divided by a common language"
There are a lot of non-first-language-is-english workers in London, eastern Europe, common wealth countries, etc, so maybe "they" are checking your understanding? I appreciate that it is not ideal however at least they are speaking to you (if slowly) instead of shunning you completely, as is my friend's experience in SoCa.
Notwithstanding this, there is a lot of racism the world over.

**HWBL** · August 11th, 2013, 09:33 AM

Originally Posted by funky_chicken

Well I know the shop she went to, I went to the shop a few years ago and we wanted to buy something for a friend who was really into brands and names during that time. So we were 5 or 6 people who wantes to buy a present together.
Together with a friend we entered the shop and not one of those b**** working there looked at us. I had to ask twice until someone came to us asking what we wanted. It was like we needed to be thankful to even be in the shop.
A minute after we entered the shop a very pompous Lady came into the shop, highheels, big blonde hairs and a fur stola. Two sales persons were right at her side the second she was in the shop.
Of course we left the shop without buying anything but that didn't bother them at all.
I really don't get this - yes, we were young and were dressed in jeans and shirt but how is our money worth less then someone else's?
I'm no fan of Oprah but it didn't surprise me at all when I heard that story and in what shop it happened - I hope the owner of this shop gets what she deserves.

Unfortunately this doesn't only happen in designer shops and it isn't always matter of race or money even. It also happens in shops where the main clientele apparently has a certain type. As soon as you don't look like the stereotypical customer of such a shop, you get treated differently: like being ignored. I've had that happen in several perfume stores over here. One time, I had been getting normal groceries and I usually don't dress up for that. Then I remembered I was out of perfume and decided to get it, last minute, because the store was reasonably quiet with only 2 customers before me. Sure, the clerks saw me coming in and knew perfectly well I was # 3 in line, yet they addressed somebody "more their type" who'd walked in several minutes after me right after # 2 had paid for her purchases. Clerk walked right past me and asked #4 if she could help her. Of course I just interrupted her and reminded her I'd been in there for a good 15 minutes so I was next in line. When I'm in my office/professional clothes they have no trouble remembering when it's my turn; when I'm dressed casually I'm invisible.

Originally Posted by karat

I am American, yes. I was born in India and my family moved the US when I was very young. Meaning I speak English fluently with an American accent and consider it my first language. But in places like London, where there are a lot of Indian immigrants, sometimes I get treated very differently than I do here in the US, i.e. the speaking to me slowly, etc. Usually once I start talking it gets better once they are convinced that I am not as stupid as they perhaps made me out to be. My husband, who is Caucasian American, does not get the same treatment, which leads me to believe that it mainly boils down to the fact that I am not white.

I could be wrong and perhaps it is just a cultural difference that I perceive as racism. I will say though that while there are racists in the US as well, it is truly one of the most tolerant countries in the world. And this goes for non-white countries as well, there is certainly a great deal of reverse racism that persists out there too.

True story: my late cousin (my family is mixed with - among other "colors" - Cherokee, Jewish, Indonesian, Irish, Scottish etc.) lived in a neighborhood in Illinois in the late sixties, early seventies, with his Caucasian wife and their 2 daughters. Maybe because he wasn't so dark and because the rest of his family was light skinned, he didn't experience any trouble. Then a black family moved into the neighborhood and the house prices dropped! Neighbors weren't happy with the family. It didn't matter that the guy was a neurosurgeon and as such probably had the highest income and highest position of all the neighbors; house prices still dropped.

**rockchick** · August 11th, 2013, 09:49 AM

Originally Posted by BBDSP

My sister worked on Rodeo Drive in retail and she said that everyone who works in high-end retail knows that you can't tell from the outside who has the big bucks. So anyone who is looking to make their living on commission needs to put that shit aside. One of the joys of being rich is that you get to do what you want, including dressing however you want. I guess it's still not OK in some places to be black, though.

I believe this. I mean just looking at some celeb pap photos....some of them look homeless and they have huge bank accounts....Mr. Depp for one.

**olivia** · August 11th, 2013, 12:39 PM

Could be racism. Could be the Swiss. I play dumb American a lot while in Europe because fuckit I don't understand all the damn rules and don't care sometimes. Yeah, the shop keepers can be assholes and grocery store employees can be terrifying (better bag your groceries with proper haste or the cashiers will slap that wooden divider on the counter to remind you.) I wish Oprah had a better sense of humor about the whole incident. Sure, it's offensive and the clerk was wrong. But Oprah is capable of turning it into a hilarious story about the richest black woman in the world who tried to purchase an ugly-assed crocodile bag in Switzerland. It's her attempt to connect with The People again, to put herself along side Trayvon with utter seriousness, that rings false.

**Flygirl** · August 11th, 2013, 01:50 PM

I dress like a tomboy slouch all the time when shopping, which does not necessarily agree with my financial status. I get ignored all the time in stores, which suits me just fine. One day I was asked to leave my other purchases at the door! (guess i looked like a thief that day!) Eh, it is what it is and a little more effort on my part could avoid it, i guess. Those snooty people work on commission, and I love plopping a huge purchase on the counter and proudly answering "Noone" when they asked who helped me that day.

(I know the clerk probably automatically takes it, and that's ok too. Let me be happy in my ignorance.)

**Novice** · August 11th, 2013, 01:58 PM

Its funny isn't it, I find the worst service comes from the cheaper (high street) shops; but I've also been ignored in "high end" stores (if you can call Tiffany's a high end store, it was mainly full of pressed crap). Lol! And I wasn't dressed badly either, the rest of the stores on Rodeo didn't have an issue.