Black woman says an Erewhon guard accused her of stealing after a $125.86 purchase in Los Angeles, then she heard: ‘See, man, it’s always them’
She says she had to produce her receipt twice, and a manager let her leave only after the second check.
A Black shopper at Erewhon’s Culver City store in California says staff accused her of theft over food she had already paid for. According to Subplot News, she shared the account in a TikTok video and states a manager let her leave only after she presented her receipt a second time.
Her total came to $125.86 for three smoothies, two hot plates, French toast as a side and groceries including ginger shots, she says. She ate outside, did not finish everything, packed up some of the food and returned to the store to ask for a paper bag.
A worker would not hand over a bag, she states, since the hot plates carried no tags, and asked for her receipt. By her account, she had already thrown the receipt away, so she dug it out of the trash and showed it to a security guard, then was given the bag.
A second receipt check
Next, she says, she used the restroom. The guard who had helped her pack the bag was waiting outside when she stepped out. He told her she was carrying the wrong receipt and that the hot plates were not hers, she states. He held up a smaller receipt listing three smoothies and called it hers. By then she had had enough, she says, and no longer wanted security to look at her food or her receipt.
The guard then got a manager, she adds. Per the report, the video seemingly shows her leading the two to the cashier and asking for confirmation of the earlier sale. The cashier seems reluctant to get involved. After she presented the receipt once more, she states, the manager allowed her to leave. That is when she says she heard the guard say, “See, man, it’s always them.”
She calls the remark racist. “I won’t be back. Erewhon won’t be getting any of my money,” she concludes. Her account in the video could not be verified independently. The outlet emailed Erewhon for comment. Erewhon is a California-based gourmet grocery chain known for its celebrity smoothie collaborations.
Under California Penal Code section 490.5, a merchant may detain a person “for a reasonable time for the purpose of conducting an investigation in a reasonable manner” with probable cause to believe the person has taken, or is attempting to take, merchandise unlawfully.
Receipt checks at store exits have also raised the question of whether shoppers must show receipts at Walmart. Accusations after checkout have drawn complaints elsewhere, such as a Walmart worker accusing a shopper of stealing at the exit in Texas.
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