'What Would You Do?': Manager accuses black woman of using fraudulent coupon
Tonight on ‘What Would You Do?’ a white pharmacy manager accuses a black woman of trying to use a fraudulent coupon, without attempting to scan it.
All across the country we have seen stories of the police being called on black people for attempting to perform everyday activities. From sitting down in a Starbucks, to mowing a lawn, to napping in a dorm, the accounts keep pouring in, and people are sharing their own stories on social media with the hashtag #LivingWhileBlack.
This past July, a CVS manager nicknamed Coupon Carl by social media users, refused to process a black woman's coupon, claiming it was fraudulent. The encounter escalated and a video of the manager calling the police went viral. CVS fired the two employees involved in the incident and released a statement saying the company doesn't "tolerate any practices that discriminate against any customer."
In tonight’s episode, shoppers witness a pharmacy manager refusing to process a woman's coupon because he's never seen it before. Our actor, Joel, makes it clear to our customer, played by Erika, that he think her coupon is counterfeit.
Joel: "I don’t know ma’am. This doesn't look real."
Erika: "Can you scan it?"
Joel: "No, I cannot scan it. It’s a fraudulent coupon. Ma’am, I know how you people are."
Throughout the day, many customers condemn our manager's inflammatory speech and offer our support to our shopper.
"You said, 'You people.' 'You people' ain't got nothing to do with that coupon," says one shopper who won't tolerate the cashier's racist remarks.
But not everyone we meet feels as though the cashier is in the wrong.
One customer chimes in, saying to Erika about the manager, "I agree with him because that's a rule they have in there. You can't come in here with a free coupon like that."
When "What Would You Do?" host John Quinones asks another customer about the manager's calling the police on Erika, the customer candidly responds, "Stuff like this, to be honest, happens ... all the time, so I just didn't think anything of it."
To see how other customers react, make sure to tune in to "What Would You Do?" tonight at 9/8c on ABC.