A Melbourne woman’s TikTok has gone viral after she shared claims of being repeatedly singled out for security checks while shopping at Priceline Highpoint, sparking fresh debate about racial profiling in Australian retail.
Joyce Lebechi, who is a Black woman, posted a video last week, saying she was “fed-up with being targeted” every time she visited the Priceline store in Highpoint, Victoria. She claimed that on multiple occasions, a security announcement calling for “security [to] please check the cameras” would go off shortly after she entered the store.
“Every time I come in here, they always ask for the cameras to get checked. And today I’ve had it up to here,” she said on June 26, adding, “It just feels very racially motivated.”
Joyce claims Priceline staff told her security checks were done “every ten minutes”, though she pointed out that she’d previously been told it was every five minutes.
She also claimed that another employee said the checks were “random”, insisting: “You’re not the only one that has that conversation with us. It happens all the time, and everyone that’s shopping at that time has the same comment, but we’ve got to do it, we can’t stop.”
When Joyce suggested that the “random” announcements were “racially motivated”, she claims the staff member replied, “You can’t say that to us when we have multiple races working in here.”
“First of all, I don’t really see that,” Joyce replied.
“I think it’s something that you guys need to be conscious of, in my opinion.”
The staff member allegedly disagreed, saying, “No, because then we are targeting.”
Joyce told PEDESTRIAN.TV the experience left her feeling humiliated.
“The feeling of walking into a store and hearing the announcement go off is very humiliating. It is quite embarrassing as well to think that I am suspicious because of my skin colour when I am an outstanding citizen, I am a nurse,” she told P.TV.
“I needed to bring awareness to that, and I’m so, so glad I did, because to hear other girls, other people of colour, say that, yes, they’ve experienced the exact same thing at that exact same store, has been very validating for me.”
The incident quickly drew attention online, with content creator Jeff Kissubi weighing in on TikTok. “This isn’t the first time [the store has] been accused of racial profiling. When a customer walks in and immediately hears ‘check the cameras,’ that’s not a coincidence,” Jeff said, referencing an alleged 2016 incident at the very same store.
He criticised the store’s initial response, which included a now-deleted Instagram post threatening legal action for defamation. “If you did take accusations of racism seriously, you would be taking the time to educate your staff and having a meeting with educating them around how this is not how you react to someone questioning the experience that they’ve had in your store,” he said.
In this latest case, Priceline’s head office has issued a formal apology to Joyce. A Priceline spokesperson told PEDESTRIAN.TV “The situation that occurred at the Priceline Pharmacy franchise at Highpoint is highly regrettable and we wholeheartedly apologise to Ms Lebechi. The security camera checks in question are not endorsed by Priceline Pharmacy, and the store has been asked to stop performing these. We are sorry for the understandable distress and concern caused by the events that took place. This experience does not reflect our values of inclusivity and respect, for all customers.
“We have reached out to Ms Lebechi to apologise on behalf of Priceline Pharmacy and explain that we are working closely with the owners of this franchise store to ensure adherence to recommended procedures.”
Joyce has filed a formal complaint with the Victorian Equal Opportunity and Human Rights Commission and said that although the company has offered a phone call, she would prefer all communication with Priceline to be in writing.
“They’ve attempted to pursue me publicly so for them to come to my DMs to apologise, like that’s just not good enough. But more than anything, like have a look on their own policies and procedures as to how they want to manage loss prevention strategy or whatever. Again, understand they have to protect their store and all of that, but there has to be another way around it,” she told P.TV.
The story has prompted support from former staff and customers, with one supposed ex-employee commenting, “This literally never ever happened in my store, this is so NOT procedure or policy. So sorry :(.”
Others have come out to say they have had similar experiences. “That happens to me EVERY time I’m at that store,” another user wrote.
“That you have multiple races working with you does not mean you cannot be RACIST!!!” said another.
Whether this latest apology leads to real change at Priceline — or just another round of statements — remains to be seen, but Joyce and plenty of others will definitely be watching what happens next.
Lead image: TikTok
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