The zipper on Ali’s Kate Spade wallet would no longer zip. She likes the wallet, so she checked whether the company would repair it for her. They would! Yay! She made plans to bring it to the Kate Spade store at her local mall and send it off for repair from there. Only the store manager wouldn’t accept the wallet without some kind of proof that she had bought it…with an implied “proof that she hadn’t stolen it.” Here’s the funny thing: she writes that when her friend walked in the store and handed over the wallet for repair, she was not asked for a receipt or any proof. Oh, incidentally: Ali is black. Her friend is white.

Saturday afternoon (right around Christmas, mind you) I go to [the mall] with my friend, White Paige* (WP for short) to take care of the wallet situation. WP has some other shopping at Ralph Lauren right next to KS, so we split up. Just for a point of reference, the hair is laid to the gods, I’ve got on khakis, a chambray button down and my J. Crew field jacket. Typical everyday Ali garments. Paige has on [Lululemon pants] and a t-shirt. Typical WP garments. Not entirely relevant but details are fun.

Once I walk into the store I have to wait approx. 5 minutes before anyone even acknowledges me but meh, it’s Saturday at the mall. No bigs. Once I tell the cute little thing behind the counter what I need, she gets the manager for me. We will call the manager, White Suzy.

Suzy comes over, I politely tell her the story (called yesterday, broken wallet, just want it repaired, will pay for it, blah blah) and she just looks at me. I stand there awkwardly because uuuuuhm, say words, woman! She then tells me that I’m going to need a receipt. Say what now? It’s a wallet from March, not a flat screen TV. I apologize and tell her I didn’t keep the receipt. She suggests I go home and bring back my credit card statement to prove I purchased it.

Prove. I. Purchased. It.

At this point, I’m annoyed. Suzy is being condescending and I’m not here for it. BUT. I want my wallet fixed so I chill. I explain that I don’t generally keep credit card statements from 9 months prior. Again, I didn’t want anything for free, I just wanted this woman to offer a bit of assistance. The wallet is clearly from Kate Spade as they still currently sell it no more than 10 feet from where I am standing. She repeats again that she will need my receipt or that she won’t be able to help me.

I’m at about a 6 on the annoyance scale so I tell her I will see what I can find out and come back. She walks away. Cool.

Paige meets me outside of KS and I’m not at about an 8 because WHO KEEPS THE RECEIPT FOR A WALLET FROM MARCH!?! It didn’t sit well. We continue on with our shopping and on our way out, I ask Paige to run into Kate Spade and see if she has any better luck.

Paige rolls her eyes because I stay having a conspiracy theory, but obliges. I’m waiting in the mall. She goes in, asks for a manager and out comes Suzy. Paige didn’t even get out her full request before Suzy is offering to exchange the wallet on the spot.

Say what now?

Not 30 minutes prior, you’re telling me I need to go home to get my credit card statement to prove that I actually purchased the wallet, and my blonde Caucasian friend comes in with the SAME wallet and you are offering to exchange it with no receipts.

Now listen, I get that it may have been an accident. It may have been a fluke that White Suzy was stank to me (when I hand to God, was really, REALLY nice) and really lovely to White Paige. I may be blowing this out of proportion but yo.

She finally decided to write to the company about the incident and heard… not a peep back, even months later. “I was here for their overpriced accessories that are likely to fall apart, and all of the rest of their preppy goodness,” she reflected. “I was even willing to overlook this one mishap if they had just responded.”

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