::: Notable Quotes :::
"Particular people employed at Dillard’s security would…prey on African-Americans.”
-Michael Imber, former Dillard’s security guard, Good Housekeeping
............................
“Dillard’s has got a major, major problem with these police officers, and if they don’t change the situation, people are going to keep dying. I’ve been in this business for 28 years, and I’ve never heard of another retail chain where they’ve had four deaths.”
-Chris McGoey, nationally known store security expert, San Antonio Current
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“I don’t like picking on one chain, but they are so bad, and they don’t show any hint of changing. Their guards are going to keep stopping people, and searching people, and beating people, and killing people, and it just begs the question: Why
hasn’t Dillard’s done something?”
-Chris McGoey, San Antonio Current

::::::::::: FAQ ::::::::::
What is Dillard's customer mistreatment?
Dillard's customer mistreatment can occur when a store patron is unlawfully searched or questioned based on their physical appearance instead of by their behavior.

Who is most affected by Dillard's customer mistreatment?
Dillard's customer mistreatment is unfortunately an all too common occurrence that has been documented and criticized widely. According to the director of the Racial Justice Project at the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California, women of color have the most regular experiences with Dillard's customer mistreatment.

:::::: ATTENTION! ::::::

Dillard Department Store Patrons:
If you have been wrongfully detained, assaulted, beaten, wrongfully arrested or prosecuted, or falsely accused of shoplifting at a Dillard’s store, you may have a claim.

For a free consultation contact:

Kenneth D. McConnico Kenneth D. McConnico, P.C. 830 Apollo Houston, TX 77058 (281) 286-7779

Not Certified by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization.


:: Customer :: Mistreatment

How large a problem is Dillard's customer mistreatment?
Dillard's customer mistreatment, according to some experts, may be on the rise due to a disproportionate increase in spending power of African-Americans and limited growth of retail outlets in African-American neighborhoods.

Why is Dillard’s currently involved in lawsuits?
Dillard’s has been involved in a long history of problems between their company and minority groups. Former and present employees have claimed discrimination and customers have filed mistreatment cases against them. Punitive damages have been awarded to victims that have been able to prove they were wrongfully accused of shoplifting or improperly treated.

Preventing Dillard's customer mistreatment
Preventing Dillard's customer mistreatment from occurring must start at the top. Some critics have blamed William Dillard for the problems Dillard’s has had with Dillard's customer mistreatment. During a ten-year wrongful-termination case a witness testified that the company vice presidents moved an African-American secretary’s desk so that Mr. Dillard wouldn’t have to see her on the way to his office. Dillard officials later testified that the vice presidents had acted without consulting with Mr. Dillard.

Retail stores must have strict and well-enforced policies regarding proper retail security protocols. During the hiring process it is important to screen out anyone who appears to have prejudices and proper training measures should be taken to instruct security to watch for suspicious behavior, rather than detaining customers based on physical appearance. Chris McGoey, a nationally known store security expert, thinks that at Dillard’s:

“No one at Dillard’s supervises these guys (security guards). When an incident happens, they are not required to fill out incident reports. They aren’t required to do anything. Dillard’s hires an officer or two for each store, and they are supposed to be kind of autonomous. They just hire them, no interview, no psychiatric exam, nothing. They don’t do training about customer relations, or any of that. And, if a security guard ever does make a mistake, they can say he had stepped out of his role and was working as a police officer. They use that defense time and again”

-(San Antonio Current, 7/00).

With some companies, however, the only way to bring about positive changes is through the justice system by way of legal action. As Kweisi Mfume, president of the NAACP told Good Housekeeping, “Thank God, people do have the ability to bring lawsuits to seek redress. And this can be a very expensive consequence for companies. But I hope that the corporate culture recognizes this is a long road nobody wants to be on…."

“It’s very important for elected officials not just to use their pulpit to say that mistreatment is a terrible thing. Instead, they should rally the kind of private sector/public sector conversations that we need. Those conversations are not occurring. That’s one of the things that really disturbs me- that government and business are not finding a way to talk about the consequences here… We, as a society, shake our heads when we hear about this kind of thing. But it’s almost as if we expect that there will be another case, another incident, and another aggrieved party.”

If you have been wrongfully detained, assaulted, beaten, wrongfully arrested or prosecuted, or falsely accused of shoplifting at a Dillard’s store, you may have a claim. Please contact us and one of our attorneys can discuss your potential case with you.
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