HatWRKS

My husband and I learned of this establishment from shopping at other businesses in the area, [redacted] and [redacted] next door, [redacted] consignment, [redacted] etc.
My husband, [redacted] and I visited hatWRKS, Friday, April 22, 2016. My husband was looking for a few summer hats and I wanted to purchase a hat for Sunday service. Having tried on a few, I asked the sales person, [redacted], if they had hat boxes. She abruptly said no, but the young male salesperson, whose name I did not get, informed me that the store indeed has hat boxes and pointed me to the location. As we were making our final decisions regarding what hats and how many to purchase, I asked Ms. [redacted] was she the owner? Her response was, "Yes." Then I asked, if there was a problem (because she had been somewhat discourteous and we were thinking of purchasing a few hats)? Ms. [redacted] said, "Do what you need to do." I said. "We would " and her reply was, "Just leave." Hard to believe that we were asked to leave for posing a question about her lack of professionalism but true.
My husband is a working professional and I am retired college professor, both African American, 66 and 65 years old respectively. We have lived through the Civil Rights movement in Memphis, TN. We have lived in other cities, such as New York City; Buffalo, NY; Madison, WI; and Omaha, NE, and the list is too extensive to name the cites and countries that we have visited. Now, living in Nashville for eleven years, we support a variety of small businesses, but never have we been asked to leave a store or treated with such disrespect. What was so shocking and mind blowing was Ms. [redacted]' abrupt and abrasive attitude especially as the business owner. Was it because we are African American that our business was not wanted? After sharing this painful experience with a few of our church members, all African American, we discovered that they too had been treated in the same manner, each vowing never shop there again.
Ms. [redacted] is an embarrassment to the city of Nashville. If she does not want minority clients, she should forewarn us with a "White" only sign on the door.
The resolution would be something as simple as treating all customers with respect and not act like it is a burden to provide basic customer service. Maybe Ms. [redacted] could hire personnel like the young man who was present the day we entered and she could remain in the back out of sight.