Chicago Lowe’s Pro member goes to the customer service desk. Then she gets racial profiled: ‘I never even had a chance to swipe my card’
A Chicago TikTok content creator experienced racial profiling in Lowe’s, despite being a regular customer for 5+ years.
Posting to her platform on Dec. 20, Ce (@ce.loveee2), a real estate manager, described an incident where a Lowe’s employee implied that she was trying to “commit fraud.”
The manager went to Lowe’s to gather materials for her properties. She went to two separate locations, spending $17,000 on materials at the first and only $800 at the second. At the second Lowe’s, an employee allegedly prevented her from using her credit card and blocked her transactions for over 10 minutes. Ce had to call her credit card company to confirm there was no issue with her card. As soon as she did, they let her use the card to make the purchase with little to no issue.
Ce posted five different videos exploring the situation, with the first part in her series garnering over 16,000 views. Many commenters agreed that the employee deliberately discriminated against Ce and that managers didn’t appropriately address the situation.
An employee allegedly discriminates against shopper
Ce went inside Lowe’s to get some jackets as gifts for her contractors and family members. She picked out around seven, which totalled $824. When she went to purchase these items, she used her Lowe’s credit card, which had a $68,000 limit.
The day before, she had spent around $17,000 of that limit on supplies, so she told her viewers she had $51,000 before she hit her limit. This was something she later confirmed with a Lowe’s representative over the phone.
When Ce walked over to the register to ring up her purchases, she noticed that her cashier took a brief second to quietly speak to another employee—presumably a manager.
The cashier then tried to help her ring up her transaction, but every time she tried to swipe the card, the machine read, “Please wait.” Ce recounted that she was never actually able to fully swipe her card and that it felt as though the employee was deliberately stopping the machine from processing the purchase.
The employee told her that it must be the “system” or her credit card. Ce proceeded to try and swipe the card multiple times, but the employee allegedly continued delaying the purchase.
Frustrated with the exchange, she called a Lowe’s representative and put them on speakerphone, asking them to confirm that she had enough money on her credit card to make the purchase and that there was no reason why the card should be delayed.
Despite putting a representative on speaker, the employee allegedly denied the purchase. So, she asked the employee to call for a manager and told them that Lowe’s was racially profiling her.
A manager walks over and helps with the situation
Ce asked a manager to assist with the exchange, whom she then explained the situation to. She had the representative from her credit card company speak to the manager.
The manager then said that they would proceed with the transaction. Ce let them know that she was frustrated by the encounter: “ I [told] him my story like, you know, I’ve been a value[d] customer with Lowe’s. [and] I should never have to experience this. I should never have to sit here and call my card [company] because I got racial profiled.”
She also pointed out that the day prior, she spent $17,000 at another Lowe’s location without issue, which made her believe that she was experiencing racial profiling.
The manager allowed Ce to then fully swipe her card, and it immediately approved. “ It went through because my card was never declined,” Ce said. “They never even let me get to the point to swipe my card, OK? Because every time I tried to swipe it, the little card system will say, please [wait]. They was pressing the system. They was pressing something, a cancel button, whatever buttons they have in… the system.”
@ce.loveee2 I can’t believe this was my real experience, but since it was, I’m taking it all the way. I emailed the CEO. I’m leaving a review. And I’m speaking up. You cannot prejudge someone. You cannot racially profile someone because they’re spending money and assume they’re doing something illegal. I’m a Lowe’s Pro member and a value customer for over five years. My card never declined. I had available funds. Yet I was forced to call Lowe’s customer service in front of the entire store just to prove my purchase was valid, while everyone else was allowed to check out without issue. That was humiliating. That was unacceptable. And yes, I’m pissed. This is bigger than a transaction. This is about how Black women are treated when we walk into spaces we can afford. #loweshomeimprovement #racialprofiling #discrimination #fyp #lowes ♬ original sound – WelcometoCeshow
She will be taking action against Lowe’s
In a third video regarding the situation posted to her platform, Ce clarified that she will be taking action against Lowe’s.
“ You should never have to come in a store when you have value[d] customer and have to call your card because they [are] profiling you for spending $800,” Ce said.
She mentioned in her final video that she messaged Lowe’s corporate email regarding the issue and wants to look into legal options. Ce also posted videos from the incident proving that there was tension during the transaction and that employees were claiming there was an issue with her card. She noticed that a man came right to her register and checked out without issue before she got there.
“Everyone in the store was able to come and get what they wanted and check out but me,” Ce said.
After seeing the evidence, commenters concluded that there was a likely chance the employee was deliberately keeping her from making a purchase due to racial profiling. One commenter said, “They did that on purpose. When they [are] not sure about the purchase they won’t click the continue button and tell the customer it’s their card. Oldest trick in the book.”
Others agreed, as people of color have continued facing scrutiny for medium-to-large-sized purchases despite having the income and ability to purchase them.
The Mary Sue reached out to Ce and Lowe’s via email for comment.
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