Homeless man thrown out of Montreal Loblaws for having shoes off because of stepping in a puddle -- without a warning.

August 26, 2007

I emailed this letter to Loblaws (owns Superstore in the West) June 14, 2007, and surprize surprize, they didn't answer. This letter within a letter is to follow up on my complaint to Loblaws. In the letter, I don't mention that I was homeless and carrying camping gear which the security guard must of guessed from looking at me, so of course, I had thought the security guard must have wanted me out just for being homeless. The big issue was taking my shoes off. My shoes were like popsicles the next morning, so I can honestly say I had no choice, and I didn’t know I had done anything wrong at the time. All I am saying is I should have gotten a warning to put my shoes on. I still have no idea what harm I did by having my shoes off. There are many businesses which say "No shoes. No service", yet I have witnessed people with their shoes off in countless settings, so it's not a clear issue, except to say that you do have to do what you are told in a private building.

Wednesday, December 4, 2002

To whom it may concern at Loblaws, Angrignon, Montréal location:

This letter is on the issue of my being kicked out of Loblaws exactly four weeks ago on a Wednesday night. It is the first time in my life that I have been kicked out of a grocery store.

Forgive me for not writing this letter in French because the undercover security guard involved said that he is Francophone, but half of my family, who are Anglophone, lives in Winnipeg where there are a lot of Loblaws, and I think I should forward this letter to all of them.

I am a new arrival from Edmonton, Alberta, so I would have replied sooner if I had not been so lost in a new city. In fact, the night I was kicked out, it was only my fourth time in a Loblaws in my life, although, I have not been back since.

Exactly 4 weeks ago, there was a construction site directly in front of your store. I was in the Angringnon area for the first time. There were also no sidewalks where I was walking, and I wanted to get out of the way of the traffic. It was so wet and dark that I walked onto the construction site, thinking it was just wet pavement. There was no pavement, just dirt and a ankle-deep puddle that I stepped into, thoroughly soaking my shoes and socks.

I knew that the weather prediction was for -10° C that night, and I had a lot of walking to do, so when I sat down to eat a box of President’s Choice peanut butter ice-cream bars, I did what any normal person would have done in my situation: I took my shoes off to let my socks dry. There were very few people in the store, and I was the only one eating at one of the tables on the second floor. Also my socks were brand new, so I was sure that there was no foot odor to bother anyone.

I thought I would eat the whole box of President’s Choice peanut butter ice-cream bars, but when I had gotten to the last one, I did not feel like eating the last one because in they are a bit sweet and filling. I did not want to throw it in the garbage, and I did not have much time before it would melt, so I quickly walked down the stairs with the bill, the box, and the last ice-cream bar thinking I would just give it away to somebody at the bottom of the stairs. The section at the bottom of the stairs had no customers, so I walked over to the check-out counter and said to an about 14 year old girl with her family in my intermediate French:

I just bought this ice cream. I have the bill right, ...

Before, I even had the chance to mention it is free, the girl rudely said “No”, thinking I wanted money for it obviously. I just walked away saying in French:

At least I tried not to waste.

I thought the under-cover security guard with the baseball cap was part of the girl’s family because he was so close, so he obviously was thinking I had just asked customers for money in front of him.

He followed me to in front of the front doors, and said something in French that I did not catch. He then said in English “Where are your shoes”, to which I said in French that they are up by my seat, and that I had stepped in mud on the construction site by accident. It actually was not mud, but I could not remember flaque d’eau, so I said boue. The security guard immediately just rudely said in English: “Put your shoes on and leave the store.” I was a bit shocked, so I just walked up the stairs to my seat with him following me. When I got up there I asked him French why he was not being nice about this. He just said “I am not English” and said in English that I am being kicked out for not wearing my shoes. At the bottom of the stairs, I said “Why don’t you just say ‘Put on your shoes’. Why are you kicking me out”. He would not answer why not. I finally had had some time to think about what just happened, so, beside the deli counter by the fresh pasta and two other young male clerks, I said “I spent my hard earned money here. No ‘Bienvenu/Come Again’, just ‘Leave, leave, leave’.” He finally said “Do you under stand?” to which I said “Your’re rude”. I then left. The whole incident took at the most 10 minutes, and I never raised my voice. My quotations are factually correct, but it is possible that they are not 100% word for word correct.

Despite this, I think it is good that I waited 4 weeks, so I could reflect on what happened., I still do not understand why I had to be kicked out. As for me talking to the girl, even a private store has to allow a measure of free speech between the customers. I mean a grocery store is one of the few places where everybody from all parts of society gets to meet. I sure there are people who have been married after meeting in a grocery store. [non-essential text deleted here]

I still do not understand why I had to be rudely kicked out of Loblaws, when I would have put on my shoes if asked to. I also know that many of the stores in Montréal rather than barring certain people [homeless] from their stores are just so rude to them, that why would they want to go back? I am acting on this observation in believing that I am simply not welcome at Loblaws, even if I spend a lot of hard-earned money there, so I likely will never return. I simply have a low tolerance for abuse. It really depresses me. I have tried to toughen up more for the big mean world out there, but I remain a sensitive guy.

David S

Customer looking for stores that want my money.