My mother has been going to this dry cleaning place for quite some time now and has always felt mistreated by the staff. My mother has come back in tears because of the frustration and sadness she felt. She would feel anxious going there! She observed clear discrimination and could no longer ignore what was clearly happening for quite some time.
My mother saw how the employees treated white customers with such respect and dignity while she (a woman of color) was treated rudely and patronizingly. My mother never wanted to believe it was because of her background but the incidents proved that she was being treated differently. My mother recalls that it made her feel like “dirt” and that she was incredibly upset anytime she went there. My mother saw the change in tone, speaking, facial expressions and actions when employees talked to her vs white folks. She felt belittled and humiliated as she was a joke to them. My mother has always been calm and has never showed any unkindness towards them despite these altercations. She decided to address the matter to the owner instead to avoid confrontation with employees who have hurt her so much.
My mother called the owner a couple days ago nd he did not even apologize for my mother's experience! He called back and said my mother was not welcome at the dry cleaning place after talking with his employees! He degraded my mother's feelings to the point where she was in tears in her own home!
No one gets to tell my mother what she should and should not feel! Espeically when it is so clear how they treated her vs others! Even when she called the owner, she wanted to rectify the situation!
Why was my mother's complaint not taken seriously? Why was the owner as rude and patronizing as his employees? Living in West Vancouver for almost 10 years now, my mother has never felt discrimination this extremely. The employees show their blatant distaste and feelings towards my mother. My mother feels belittled, excluded and humiliated. She was in tears for days and it breaks my heart knowing that a place we have given our business for years has been a place of such negativity! We have supported them even through the pandemic and this is the type of reception we get when we point out their faults.
Is it fair for my mother to be excluded from a place just because she pointed out their shortcomings?
Is it fair that these folks remain uneducated and ignorant to clear issues?
My family and I don’t think it’s fair in any way. The owner and his employees have heavily impacted my mother’s sense of belonging. My parents immigrated to the USA in 1999 and came to Canada during the financial crisis of 2008. My parents worked very hard so my siblings and I could have the quality of life we have now in West Van. It is only right my parents are afforded equality and respect after everything they sacrificed for. My mother left India 22 years ago so she could live in place where she was treated with the same dignity and respect as others! I believe that she has found this everywhere except this dry cleaning place!
They need to re-read the Canadian Charter of Rights where it clearly says "Provision. 15. (1) Every individual is equal before and under the law and has the right to the equal protection and equal benefit of the law without discrimination and, in particular, without discrimination based on race, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, sex, age or mental or physical disability."
Furthermore, in the BC Human Rights Code:
The prohibited grounds of discrimination in the BC Human Rights Code include “race, colour, ancestry, place of origin, religion, family status, marital status, physical disability, mental disability, sex, age, sexual orientation, political belief or conviction of a criminal or summary conviction offence..."
Treat people better and with kindness.
If I could, I would give 0 stars.
Sincerely,
The Ohri Family