Crime

Dollar store investigating after cashier ‘caught on camera’ refusing to serve gay woman

Apr 26 2016
Written by Nick Duffy

A dollar store chain in Louisiana is investigating – after a video spread in which an employee allegedly refuses to serve a gay woman.

New Orleans woman Melissa Langford spoke out after her experience at the Family Dollar store – where she heard an employee at the cash register cracking homophobic jokes.

Ms Langford told the employee that as a gay woman she didn’t want to hear anti-gay comments, but after the exchange the employee then allegedly refused to serve her.

After Ms Langford started recording the incident on her phone, the clerk can be heard saying: “I’m not serving them two.”

The customer explains in the clip: “She won’t serve me because I’m gay.”

She wrote on Facebook: “It started off with the cashier loudly voicing her opinion on how much she hates gay people (as I casually stand in line realizing what she’s saying).

“After listening to her yell and preach to each customer about how “gay people need to get ‘the f**k’… I started to writhe away internally. I wanted to cry right then and there.

“I said, ‘excuse me, but I’m m very very gay and you’re really offending me. Think what you want but keep it to yourself’.

“She. Flipped. Out. Went totally off. An exchange of words passed between us, and her and the guy in line ahead of me (which she denied service to as well cuz he was defending gay people).

“Once I pulled out my camera, she toned it down but, as you can see, she went as far as leaving the counter and going by the exit just to not serve my gay ass.”

Ms Langford put the clip online after her appeals to the store’s manager fell on deaf ears – though eventually a different cashier did agree to serve her.

The Family Dollar chain says it is now investigating the incident.

A statement said: “We take incidents like this very seriously. We have a Code of Ethics in place that ensures inclusion for customers and associates and helps to ensure good customer care.

“The code specifically forbids unprofessional conduct and comments on sexual orientation, among other matters.

“Any activity that goes against this code is simply not how we expect our stores to do business. This situation is currently under investigation.”