Grandfather Gets Kicked Out of Barnes and Noble....

[nissangirl74]

.....on suspicion that he might be a pedoph:le. Their reasoning: he was in the children's section of the bookstore alone. Also, HE'S 73 YEARS OLD.

A Scottsdale man is claiming that a Barnes & Noble bookstore discriminated against him when an employee forced him out of the store because he was a male shopper alone in the children's area.

Omar Amin, 73, said store worker Todd Voris told him that a female shopper had complained about him being in the children's area May 4 in the store at Shea Boulevard and Loop 101 in Scottsdale.

Amin, who was alone at the time, said he was in Barnes & Noble to buy books for his two grandchildren who live in Wisconsin.


"Men alone cannot be by themselves in the children's area," Amin said he was told, adding that Voris said other bookstores had encountered problems with child molesters.




http://www.azcentral.com/community/scot ... -bias.html

[snwbrdr435]

Lawsuit time

[bigbadberry3]

Maybe shopping for a grand kid?

[Jesda]

Sheesh. I hang out in the kids sections at stores by myself all the time buying gifts for my siblings. What a bunch of a-holes.

[Bubba1]

Assuming he wasn't caught harrassing children in the store, IF I were in B&N's legal department, I'd order the Brink's truck to back up to Grandpa's door and give him a huge settlement before the lawsuit gets filed. It didn't occur to them he might be shopping for a grandchild? What idiots.

[nissangirl74]

As of right now, B&N Corporate is standing firmly behind the employee's decision.
He was shopping for his two grandsons.
He said that B&N has not responded to his inquiries and he's not going away. He wants an explanation.

This is a great way for the last surviving national bookstore to go by the wayside.

[Jesda]

I also go to Toys R Us alone and look at Hot Wheels, RC cars, and Lego, then I wander over to the pink aisle (blech) to look at gifts. I'm tempted to take the Power Wheels for a ride.


Independent bookstores have benefitted from the demise of Borders. Few of them offer the vast selection of these big box places (a few do), focusing instead on niches like history, teen novels, gay/lesbian, collectible vintage, children, etc. Some are combination bookstore cafes. You sit down, order a sandwich, grab a book off the shelf, and (in theory) buy it and take it home to finish it. I've contemplated going retail and opening a cheap place in an up-and-coming or mildly gentrified neighborhood but then I remember how much I dislike dealing with the public, dealing with shoplifters, etc.


I dislike BN because their science, business, and history selections are crap. Borders was WAY better.

[skydragoness]

Assuming he wasn't caught harrassing children in the store, IF I were in B&N's legal department, I'd order the Brink's truck to back up to Grandpa's door and give him a huge settlement before the lawsuit gets filed. It didn't occur to them he might be shopping for a grandchild? What idiots.

I have to say, when I read his name I wonder if that was the real reason he was kicked out.

.
"Men alone cannot be by themselves in the children's area," Amin said he was told, adding that Voris said other bookstores had encountered problems with child molesters."

They need to elaborate on that last part. Like what? Some creeper hiding behind a book display with a pair of binoculars or approaching children? Vague.

[s0m3th1ngAZ]

How I miss my Powell's Bookstore...

[alms24sebring]

OMFG. This would have never of happened in Borders

[AppleBonker]

As of right now, B&N Corporate is standing firmly behind the employee's decision.

This article claims otherwise. Though, they didn't cite a source, so I suppose for now it can be taken with a grain of salt.

[themadscientist]

I normally hate litigation, but pops has a case and he should punish that company for bad touching. I'm going to go stand in the alternative lifestyle section and ogle women.

[nissangirl74]

As of right now, B&N Corporate is standing firmly behind the employee's decision.

This article claims otherwise. Though, they didn't cite a source, so I suppose for now it can be taken with a grain of salt.

That was the last report I heard. Since this is a local story, I'll keep the updates coming as I hear them.

I have to say, when I read his name I wonder if that was the real reason he was kicked out.

That was brought up this morning on the radio. He's Egyptian (and has been a resident of the US for over 45 years). It's hard to believe he WASN'T profiled.

Apparently, there was a female customer that "reported his suspicious behavior" to the management, although that behavior has yet to be clearly defined.

[themadscientist]

Let's investigate her. Did she ever leave the home decorating and cookbook section? If so, that's suspicious.

[nissangirl74]

Adam was right. Here is another link: http://www.myfoxphoenix.com/story/18695 ... ns-section

[AZhitman]

Let some minimum-wage pimply-faced putz with a plastic nametag tell me to leave the store...

There'll be a lawsuit, for sure, but it'll be the employee's next of kin suing me for the untimely demise of their idiot kid.

When are people going to get fed up with the nanny state mentality and backlash? I'm ready. It's been brewing for too long.

[hannibal]

Alright, the employee sees a "suspicious" older guy in the kids section. So you keep an eye on him. As long as he's not showing his pop up book to little kids, there's no harm done.

Barnes and Amin doesnt have the same ring to it...

[DJ_B_Easy]

I worked part time at Best Buy for a short stunt for some extra cash when I moved out of my house. Part of my duty there was loss prevention, so I got to sit behind the cameras and identify suspicious activity. Here is what should have happened, and is the policy at Best Buy.

1) Identify "suspicious" activity
2) Report suspicious activity to floor in non-biased way. "John D, please contact customer in MP3s". You dont say, "John D this dude is about to shove a CD down his pants, go stop him." This way the floor approaches the suspect as in the next step.
3) Floor then "contacts" suspect and asks if they need help/are finding everything they need/are having a nice day. There is no opportunity for finger pointing or other jumped to conclusions because the floor doesnt actually know why they are contacting the suspect. It could very well be that the person looked like they needed help to me, so I got them some.

Usually this is enough to thwart off shoplifters, and if it was a customer that just needed help they now have had a better shopping experience. Had the employee approached the grandfather professionally, none of this would have happened.

"Good afternoon sir, are you finding all the books you need today"
"Well Im looking for Dora 2K3 for my grandson, do you have that book?"

His action is explained (not that it needed to be in the first place) and everyone goes about their business as usual.

IMO, this falls solely on Barnes & Noble policies.

[AppleBonker]

When are people going to get fed up with the nanny state mentality and backlash? I'm ready. It's been brewing for too long.

I'm not so sure this is a fair assessment. Not to sound like I'm taking the side of B&N, but the workers were put in a bit of a tough situation. This basically put two different customers against each other. No matter what the employee chose to do, one of the customers was going to leave pissed. Unfortunately, the employee apparently chose to side with the wrong customer, as now the backlash is coming from a much larger audience. But, vision is 20/20 in hindsight.

If you ask me, the problem from this event was a result of the woman complaining. I've been wondering for a long time why people choose to get their panties in a bunch over the dumbest things, and I still can't find an explanation for it. Life can't be any more enjoyable when you're always upset/bothered/worried/whatever, so why choose to be? If you're really concerned that every older guy you meet is a pedoph:le, you really should stay inside your own house. It's safer there.

Edit: this comment is only valid if there actually was a woman (not employed by B&N) who raised a fuss over this guy. If not, B&N can choke on one.

[DJ_B_Easy]

^Some people need to bunch their panties because their lives are just that boring. Their lives arent enjoyable, so they need to be upset/bothered/worried to stay occupied.

[300ZXttZMAN]

Wow this is nuts.

I would love to know what the employee thinks was suspicious about the old fella.

[Jesda]

Political correctness, the nanny state, busybodies, and paranoia all tie in together and produce the same crappy societal result.

[adrianfromthecastle]

"'scuse me... can you please step outside of the store sir."






lol jk

[themadscientist]

Hew kid want to sit on my lap? Have a werthers original.

[AZhitman]

the workers were put in a bit of a tough situation. This basically put two different customers against each other. No matter what the employee chose to do, one of the customers was going to leave pissed.

No, they weren't.

The employee is too stupid to make that decision on his own, and he's unqualified to do so.

He should have told his manager, and the manager should have educated the fat b**** on minding her own damn business.

"What exactly did he do that was suspicious, ma'am?"

"Well, he's brown. And old. And he's in the kids' section."

"Ma'am, we don't tolerate profiling or jumping to ignorant imaginary conclusions here at B&N. The 'Unnecessary Drama' aisle is over there, I suggest you spend a lot less time in it."

Problem solved. Natural consequences are a b****, but they work far better than man-made ones.

[AppleBonker]

No, they weren't.

The employee is too stupid to make that decision on his own, and he's unqualified to do so.

He should have told his manager, and the manager should have educated the fat b**** on minding her own damn business.

Really? I'll come join you in fantasy-land whenever there is an open spot. But, for now, I don't see how this would work as a business model. I do agree with you that businesses should be able to mock/educate the mentally deficient customers, but you can't honestly believe that those customers would take it well, can you? It seems like it would be a great way to lose those customers. Maybe I don't give enough credit to the human race, but I think these crazy/slow/mental folks make up about 99.9% of the population, so pissing them off would seem like a great way to end up out of business.

[themadscientist]

The customer is NOT always right. There are ways to deal with people like that where any observer would harbor no malice at your decision to marginalize them. I've had to do so many times.

[nissangirl74]

The fault does not lie with the woman who made the complaint. You can't punish people for how they feel or their gut reactions about someone. The only action she did was tell someone that she thought the situation was odd. The fault lies with the unqualified employee who approached the man and told him he had to leave. That employee had no right whatsoever to do so. He was NOT a manager so he was NOT qualified to make the decision to kick him out of the store. The manager on duty was the only who had the right to make that call.

[Dattebayo]

As a former B&N employee, I can say that this customer harassment thing is not new. They used to kick people out of the sexual education/fiction books section all the time just for reading the material. By reading I do not mean "jerking it to the pictures", either. While it is kinda creepy, it's not outright indecent exposure and definitely violates the rights of shoppers looking for that sort of reading.

[skydragoness]

As a former B&N employee, I can say that this customer harassment thing is not new. They used to kick people out of the sexual education/fiction books section all the time just for reading the material. By reading I do not mean "jerking it to the pictures", either. While it is kinda creepy, it's not outright indecent exposure and definitely violates the rights of shoppers looking for that sort of reading.

LOL
They expect people to take a book off that shelf and just walk to the register immediately?