Father accuses Myer of racially profiling Aboriginal son

One man has hit out at a Myer store in Perth, claiming the staff there racially profiled his son while they were shopping for suit accessories for his formal. The father left his son to try on some formalwear with the assistance of a staff member and returned to find security had been called. In a lengthy Facebook post, Shem Garlett shared a letter of complaint he sent to the manager of the Myer store detailing his shopping experience with his son Jaylen, indicating at the bottom of the post that this is not the only time his son has been subjected to these incidents.

The post starts with Garlett explaining he had been a Myer One card holder for a long time and often shops at Myer with son Jaylen because it is close to where he works. Garlett then goes on to detail his experience, 

“On Thursday 8 March at 4.30pm Jaylen and I were looking for a shirt and accessories to go with his suit which we bought from another shop. The lady helping us (xxxxxxxx) was extremely helpful and provided us great customer service. She helped match his shirt and accessories to his suit all within 20 minutes,” Garlett wrote.

In the post, he explains that he left his son to try on shirts with the helpful attendant so he could find some reception to text his partner who as meeting the pair afterwards. After he heard a call over the intercom calling for security to attend the men’s formal wear fitting room he rushed to see if his son was okay and found a crowd of staff at the service desk.

“I asked the lady at the service desk if everything was ok. She told me that there was a boy unaccompanied in the change rooms that didn’t have anything to try on so she called security. I advised the lady that she had called a security alert for my son and explained he was alone in the change room because was waiting for xxxxxx to get another shirt for him to try on,” Garlett wrote.

When Garlett asked the woman why she had called security she told him that a purse had been stolen from the service area in the previous week and mentioned she was lost for words when Garlett asked what that fact had to do with his son.

“The only thing she would have noticed was a young Aboriginal man, in her mind, appearing to be in the wrong place.” Garlett wrote. 

Garlett said everyone looked “confused and embarrassed” when they saw the helpful staff member walk up to the service desk to finalise their purchases totaling more than $200.

Garlett finished his post by sharing a proud picture with his son on formal day saying that these attitudes toward aboriginal shoppers need to change.

“This is not an isolated incident as many of my Aboriginal friends and family have shared similar experiences of being racially profiled and harassed by security when shopping,” he wrote. “I am not sure what your security protocols regarding customer surveillance are but I’d suggest that security calls be reserved for when there is real evidence of a theft being committed, ” 

“This will avoid any future embarrassment for all parties.”

Garlett also suggested that Myer could try and employ more Aboriginals so staff members had more opportunities to interact positively with Aboriginal people.

In a statement to 7 News, a Myer spokesperson said the mix-up was due to a misunderstanding between team members and that no other factors were involved.

Do you think this family received unfair treatment by Myer staff members?