Earlier this week, we told you that Gabourey Sidibe shared a less than pleasant experience she had while shopping at a Chanel store in Chicago, where she films Empire. She said that while trying to buy some frames for herself and sandals for co-star Taraji P. Henson from the luxury boutique, a saleswoman did everything in her power to get Sidibe out of the store. Her methods included telling the star an establishment on the same block would be a better fit for what she was looking for.
“I’d love to pretend she was being polite, and I’m sure she would love to pretend she was polite, but she was actually condescending,” Sidibe wrote. “Explaining to me how exactly I should get across the street and out of her sight line, as if I were in kindergarten. I was trying to purchase glasses, and she was trying to get the interaction with me over as soon as possible. Just to be sure of what was happening, I made her tell me to leave, in her pretend-polite way, three times.”
It wasn’t until other employees realized who she was that she was given some respect by the saleswoman. The incident of possible racial profiling (she claimed it also could have been discrimination based on her size), written about for The Lenny Letter, created a lot of conversation. So much so that Chanel actually decided to respond to it and offer the 33-year-old an apology. They also investigated the situation, which is interesting considering Sidibe said she wasn’t even sure she wanted to fill out a customer survey to get the saleswoman in trouble in the first place.
“Chanel expresses our sincerest regret for the boutique customer service experience that Ms. Sidibe mentioned in this essay,” the apology read. “We are sorry that she felt unwelcome and offended. We took her words very seriously and immediately investigated to understand what happened, knowing that this is absolutely not in line with the high standards that Chanel wishes to provide to our customers. We are strongly committed to provide anyone who comes in our boutiques with the best customer service. We do hope that in the future Ms. Sidibe will choose to come back to a Chanel boutique and experience the real Chanel customer experience.”
Sidibe hasn’t publicly responded to the apology, but we’re willing to bet it’s appreciated.
Images via Bigstock
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