Can a store refuse to sell an instock item?

My husband and I were at Champs Sports Shoe store a few days ago and asked about the jordan/af1 fusions. The manager said that she had them in his size but would not sell them to him because she was saving them to buy for her boyfriend. Just for kicks and giggles he offered her $20 extra to sell to him instead! She refused. She was snotty and rude. He joked with her and asked if she was sure that her boyfriend wasn't a size 12 instead of a 13. She responded by saying "Oh no he is ALL of a 13" in a really disgusting way. I have been told that not only is it illegal for her to refuse a sale to us, but most would consider her attitude of perverseness "sexual harassment". I'm not trying to throw around any sexual harassment cards, but if refusing to sell us the shoes that she stated she had in stock is illegal, I would love to have her fired or at least demoted. Does anyone know if she had the right to refuse us the sale?

The woman that refused to sell to me WAS THE MANAGER!
And maybe I am confused here, but Champs is a huge franchise not a privately owned store. And she was the MANAGER not the owner, so how does company policy/ or common law determine that she can REFUSE to sell to me?

I have done everything possible to contact the district manager, the manager that refused my sale also refuses to give me his name or number.
I have contacted the corporate office and given the run around there too. I am continuously directed to "Sharons" voicemail, and do not get a call back. Not to mention that the receptionist will NOT tell me what Sharons position is. For all I know she is directing me to the flippin corporate janitor!!!!

A private business has the right to do business with you, or not, as they choose - so long as they don't base that decision on a prohibited characteristic such as race.

I will guarantee, however, that what she did (while not illegal) violates company policy. You can complain to her bosses.

Richard

Illegal, no, but dumb. Contact her the corporate headquarters and explain the situation. They're part of Foot Locker.....

Foot Locker, Inc. Headquarters
Foot Locker, Lady Foot Locker,
Kids Foot Locker, Footaction
112 West 34th Street
New York, New York 10120
(212)720-3700

Champs Sports
311 Manatee Avenue West
Bradenton, Florida 34205
(941)748-0577

50 years in retail.
Shoe buyer at one time, 17 yrs.

I thought that I may have heard and seen all the dumbas* crap there was to be heard from sales people.

This is a new one.

Write a nice letter, not an angry one, to the co. Their address is posted.

Try this.
Sir:
On such and such day, (date), I went to (store) to purchase a pair of shoes, (describe fully w/color and size).
(You might receive a surprise)

The sales lady had a pair in my size but refused to sell them to me. She claimed that she was holding them for (?????).

I cannot understand why she admitted that she had my size, but then refused to sell them to me.

Is this a policy of the store, to hold merchandise for another person, then tell me that she has the merchandise but refuse to sell to me?

This letter would never be in your hands had she just told me that she didn't have the shoes. I never would have known the difference.

I refrain from describing the rude treatment offered, free of charge.

Thanks for listening.

Yes!
I feel much better now.

sign & Address/contact info


I will bet that you receive a reply.

Sorry but stores are allowed to put things on hold for people and they have the right to refuse service to any person at any time as long as it isn't due to discrimination. As far as the clerk goes, just report her to her supervisor or to the corporate office and tell them exactly what you told us. In my opinion she really didn't say anything that I would consider as sexual harassment. Have you ever considered that maybe she felt a little harassed by you and your husband because he started questioning her and it caused her just to get a little defensive so her statement just came out in a way you felt to be wrong? You husband was giving her a hard time and maybe she felt like he was backing her into a corner.

Legally you have a claim, maybe even a lawsuit if you can play it that way. The store has a right to refuse business with any individual customer for legit reasons, but not for person reason. Don't wait to do something about it, because time is precise in these types of matters. First contact the store manager, make sure you have the sales rep's name and the time this took place. Also let the manager know that if something is not done, you will take this to corporate and the better business bureau. You have a lot of options and make sure when you state your issue with the store you, you make it know that you know what your doing and not afraid to use you legal knowledge.
Good luck and hope everything works out for you.

Wow Tia,

You are getting some really BAD answers here. Private businesses can do business with anyone they want. They can also refuse to do business with anyone, FOR ANY REASON. I'll give you an example. The Augusta National Golf Club is a private membership club that holds a national golf tournament every year. These tournaments are always televised on national t.v. The club does not have a single female member, nor does it allow females to play in the tournament. This is obviously a gender bias, but it is a private club. Now race, religion, ethnicity are things that no one can discriminate against you for the purposes of EMPLOYMENT. In other words, they have to give everybody equal opportunity employment, but not equal opportunity shopping. Sorry.

P.S. Still a PRIVATELY OWNED CORPORATION....weather it's a franchise or publically traded on NASDAQ, it's NOT owned by the federal government with public money.

I don't think anything "illegal" happened here nor were you sexually harrassed. What you should have done on the spot was asked to see the manager. In a situation such as this, you as the customer are to be served by the salesperson, not the other way around. And you and the sales staff are not peers. They exist for you and because of you.

(What I find curious is that she even told you she had the shoes in the first place. That was just asking for a fight.)

This is not to say that we should disrespect salespeople, but clearly this person does not understand her role. That is the issue.

Call the store and get a manager on the phone. Get his/her name and write it down immediately. Detail for him as you have here what happened, including the date and time you were in the store as well as a physical description of the salesperson (or her name).

Do not include your assessment or opinions. Stick to the facts and let him/her make the conclusions. (Do not say "illegal" or "sexual harassment," because you will undermine your position.)

After you explain, see what the manager has to say. If he says, "I'll look into it," suggest that that is not nearly good enough.

You are not interested in "the other side of the story." You are a valuable customer and you have been harmed, and so has your relationship with this store. Therefore, the manager's primary concern should be to make you happy, THEN deal with his staff person who is clearly out of line.

So, unless he offers an immediate resolution, tell him that you want the matter resolved immediately to your satisfaction. If he asks what that is, tell him you want the shoes and that you feel an adjustment is in order (can't hurt to ask).

I would imagine you will have the shoes rather quickly, and hopefully, with some kind of discount.

If you feel that the manager isn't responding to you appropriately, ask for the name and phone number of the regional supervisor. If he won't give it to you, send an email to

customer_service@champssports.com

and state ONLY that you wish to have the regional supervisor of the store in (location) contact you about a matter that you have not been able to resolve at the store level.

Please do follow up. That's the only way to keep these things from happening again.