Discrimination?

Jacquenette and I went to the Concord wig place to pick up my special ordered hairpiece yesterday. I had been there before of course - to order the hair and I have also purchased a wig from this place. They were nice to me...and Mark, too. They laughed when I put on the afro wig last time I was there...and I wanted to show Jac how it looked - make her laugh too. So I put it on, and then the ladies told me I wasn't allowed to put on the wigs. Not without a wigcap. Well I was confused! They had let me put them on before....but, no problem. Ok, I wouldn't put them on. I joked to Jac that it was because I came in with her (she is a black woman). Hehehe. But then I thought - maybe it was because they didn't recognize me - last two times I was there in their shop I had hair. But this day, I came in bald. Ok so I tried to pay with my American Express Card and found out they did not accept AE, so I would have to come back later. (Jac says it was a ripoff anyway - the price I was paying for that hairpiece. That is when we decided to go to the hair shop where she got her cute 'do - in Stockton)

So we went to the wig/hair shop out in Stockton. I was looking for something called a *quick weave* - which is like a cap of curls. The shop specializes in African-American hair products. This is a place where Jacquenette has shopped in the past, and we came here specifically because I wanted a hair thingy just like the one Jac has, and this is the place she got hers. Ok. So we went in (I was not wearing a hat or anything - bald). We went to the counter and a young man helped us and found the hairpiece we were looking for - I wanted to try it on so bad (it is really cute!). The young man helped us cut the ties in the package that were preventing us from trying on the wig, and then Jac proceeded to help me put it on and straighten it on my head - to get a feel for it. Then all of a sudden, the other salesperson told us we were not to try on the hairpieces - not without a wigcap. This did not bother me, really - but I joked to Jac that it must be because I am bald! That is when Jac piped up and told the salesperson that she has never ever been told she must wear a wigcap in that store, that she has been there several times and has tried on different hairpieces - ALL WITHOUT A WIGCAP. The salesperson insisted that I may only wear the hairpiece after I have purchased it. Jac was pissed. We were going to buy the thing - no problem. Jac was incensed about the fact that the sales staff was being inconsistent...and it seemed to point to the fact that it was because I was bald - both situations. She told the staff as we were leaving they need to be consistent in the way they treat customers. That this kind of *policy* should be enforced by all salespersons, all of the time, so as not to be offensive to customers.

Jacquenette is a good person.