Posted on 06/06/2012 9:50:08 AM PDT by Altariel
An Arizona doctor says hes going to sue Barnes & Noble unless he gets an apology from an employee who tossed him from the store because he was alone in the children's section.
Dr. Omar Amin, 73, of Scottsdale, said he was browsing for books for his five- and seven-year-old grandkids at the store on May 4 when he walked into the childrens reading area to quietly answer a cellphone call.
Amin, a renowned researcher of infectious diseases, told local station KTVK that he sat on the ground to avoid bothering other shoppers with his chatter.
This man approached me and asked if I was in the store by myself, he told Fox News.
He said You cannot stay. This is not an area where men are allowed to be by themselves.
The employee told Amin that a female customer complained that he made her uncomfortable, Amin said.
The employee then told Amin to leave and escorted me out as a potential sex offender, he told the KTVK.
I was upset like hell because Ive been so insulted and humiliated in public for the charge of being a man, he said.
Mark Bottini, the big box booksellers vice president and director of stores, apologized for the flap in a statement.
It is not our policy to ask customers to leave any section of our stores without justification, the statement said, according to KTVK. We value Dr. Amin as a customer and look forward to welcoming him in any of our stores.
The distinguished doc said the statement didnt go far enough.
I do not intend to let this slide by," Amin told FoxNews.com. "I want the person who insulted me in the store to apologize to me in public, in the store, and on camera. If I do not get that, I am going to court, he told Fox News.
He also said he wants the company to prove it reprimanded the employee who confronted him.
I did not break any rules, he said.
methinks thy doctor doth protest too much
No damages? A minimum wage employee throws a prominent, professional person out of your store and people see that, and you don’t see damages. I’m going to wait for my next traffic crash and look for you, and I will argue that you can’t discern damages when you observe them. Therefore, you have no damages.
Not just “nobody”.
Only if a woman would complain. One average normal guy complaining about another guy, would not do it. Only women complaining about a man has sufficient weight for a store to take it seriously and obviously throw the offending male out.
Little clue, real terrorists tend not to be 73 year old guys taking a cell phone call in the kids section of Barnes and Noble.
Please.
Without implying guilt or innocents, you don’t see many 73 year olds sitting on the floor.
If they are physically tossing you out of the store, management isn’t wanting to talk with you.
The solution would have been for mom and daughter to have switched seats if either you or mom would have preferred that.
A check of the cell phone for pics of kids there could have determined if this was the case.
The larger point of having a policy like this - guilty for just being a man, can’t be here” is one that cannot be allowed to stand.
OK, add them up for me. What are his out of poket damages? Better yet, you take his case and see how much of a recovery you get. Those of us more experienced will surely pass.
For answer to question that was posed, see post#39.
A little off topic but back when I was in high school(early eighties) we had a gym teacher that was openly lesbian. Back then they did not allow her in the girls locker room unless their was an emergency. They would never enforce such a rule today.
“Sad.”
###
Sad is right.
Sad that you had to worry about appearances and sadder still for the little girl, who would certainly have enjoyed a very rewarding and memorable conversation with a strong male she looked up to.
At the same time, you do see a lot of adults of all ages by themselves, shopping for all sorts of things, and taking cell phone calls while shopping.
I see a lot of weird people that would make me uncomfortable if I had to be around them for awhile, and I do not report them to the store’s workers. I have seen the People of Wal Mart weird kind of people and I don’t report them to store workers.
Why would you go to the kids section of a bookstore (usually noisy from kids) to take a phone call?
That alone strikes me as odd.
But I also agree there are folks out there just looking to mind someone elses beeswax.
“Hes also a doctor.”
—
And what on earth does this have to do with anything?
He could have been a ditch digger browsing on his lunch hour.
Should his treatment by the store be different?
Should the store’s apology be different?
.
For answer to question, see post#39.
Suspicious and creepy is not illegal. If it was most homeless people would have nice warm beds and 3 meals a day in jail.
Hey, Omar, strap on a suicide vest and go back. That will show those infidels.
“I have seen... weird kind of people and I dont report them to store workers.”
Me neither. When I see creepers with cellphone cameras on the floor in the kiddie areas of bookstores I tell them to scram myself.
I know a 39 year old retarded (PC-mentally deficient?) man, he gets the cops called on him all the time just for being in parks or talking to someone. He is very friendly and will talk to anyone and you can’t believe how many people call the police on him.
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