Oprah Winfrey Gets Apology From Switzerland Over Racist Handbag Flap

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Hell in Japan high school students carry LV wallets and not any self respecting doctor.

I think the assistant was more guilty of being a snob, rather than a racist

Which would be true if she didn't want to sell the bag to anyone else. If she showed the bag to other customers and not Oprah, then there's a problem.

A few years ago, I was in Singapore for a pre honeymoon with my wife. I wanted to get her a nice engagement ring from there since it was a blessing I could spend a week there with her before going out to sea again. I remember the shopping district is pretty expensive there. I went into a couple of jewelry stores that didn't have the prices on the merchandise(my mother later told me, if you have to ask, it's too much for you). The stuff there was in the 5-6 digit range. This is pricey, but do you know what? Every store I went into, I was treated like anyone else. They showed me what I asked for, gave me a price, and then proceeded to show me more stuff. There was never a refusal in service. At one point, I got weary and asked one store could they show me where I could find something in the 3-4 digit range. They did, and I went and bought my wife a beautiful singapore blue and white diamond ring for a price I could afford. No assumption was made about me, I had on blue jeans, a T-shirt, and some high top Air Force Ones.

That is what customer service is about. Treating everyone like a customer.

I agree with you. I have only ever watched two of OW's shows in my life so if she showed up in a restaurant that I was dining in incognito I would have no idea who she is. She is being a diva IMHO.

If you watched the video, she didn't use her clout. She didn't see the manager and tell them who she was, she left the store. If she was being a diva, she could have bought the store out and then filed a complaint. All she wanted was to be treated like a regular customer.

[Jacque67 7,328]

Which would be true if she didn't want to sell the bag to anyone else. If she showed the bag to other customers and not Oprah, then there's a problem.

A few years ago, I was in Singapore for a pre honeymoon with my wife. I wanted to get her a nice engagement ring from there since it was a blessing I could spend a week there with her before going out to sea again. I remember the shopping district is pretty expensive there. I went into a couple of jewelry stores that didn't have the prices on the merchandise(my mother later told me, if you have to ask, it's too much for you). The stuff there was in the 5-6 digit range. This is pricey, but do you know what? Every store I went into, I was treated like anyone else. They showed me what I asked for, gave me a price, and then proceeded to show me more stuff. There was never a refusal in service. At one point, I got weary and asked one store could they show me where I could find something in the 3-4 digit range. They did, and I went and bought my wife a beautiful singapore blue and white diamond ring for a price I could afford. No assumption was made about me, I had on blue jeans, a T-shirt, and some high top Air Force Ones.

That is what customer service is about. Treating everyone like a customer.

Yeah so as I said it is to do with snobbery. At the risk of sounding racist, the Chinese tend to be more pragmatic and a sale is a sale. In the case of Switzerland where the internationally rich collect, if Oprah turned up without personal security at the shop the staff would assume she is middle class. This happens on Bond Street in London. The truly rich always have security detail.

[We Keep Receipts 9,238]

Yeah so as I said it is to do with snobbery. At the risk of sounding racist, the Chinese tend to be more pragmatic and a sale is a sale. In the case of Switzerland where the internationally rich collect, if Oprah turned up without personal security at the shop the staff would assume she is middle class. This happens on Bond Street in London. The truly rich always have security detail.

To be fair a lot of black people that get to close to that level(let's face it, I can't name someone who is Oprah rich and black without Google) do that to be treated like regular folks. I think she wanted the lady to treat her like anyone else, this is why she didn't throw her weight around(pun not intended).

Maybe she was reaching, if folks were in there without security and being treated the same as her, then I can see your point. But if there were white people in there without an entourage and treated better than her, it's a problem.

[Jacque67 7,328]

To be fair a lot of black people that get to close to that level(let's face it, I can't name someone who is Oprah rich and black without Google) do that to be treated like regular folks. I think she wanted the lady to treat her like anyone else, this is why she didn't throw her weight around(pun not intended).

Maybe she was reaching, if folks were in there without security and being treated the same as her, then I can see your point. But if there were white people in there without an entourage and treated better than her, it's a problem.

Agreed , depending on their clothing , etc.

[Jacque67 7,328]

On Bond Street, London , Arab and African royals with their entourages get treated better than middle class white shoppers. . Fact.

Edited August 10, 2013 by Jacque67

[Karee 4,190]

You can find racism in any situation when that's all you're looking for.

[Danno 1,228]

What woman working at a shop that sells that kind of merchandise doesn't want a sale? You're making silly excuses. And no one answered my question. What is it about Oprah that says she couldn't afford it? You act as if she went in there with flip flops and a tank top. But I know you tend to always believe that about us.

When was the last time a white actor/actress has been denied sale anywhere in the world? I've looked and I can't find it. And if you look at the video, Oprah didn't want to use her clout, she wanted the woman to sell her the bag without having to explain who she was. She is a customer, if the lady doesn't want to sell the bag, get another job.

Oprah said she was dressed plainly and was by herself. The woman stereotyped oprah as window shopping race played a part but may not have been the root, it was about "LIKELIHOOD OF SALE."

In europe people tend to dress nicer, peoples wealth is more more reflective in there clothes, if O was dressed "tourist casual" she might have been seen as a paunchy Black women and it was figured "This lady is not a serious buyer."

Yeah now I know you are saying "what does color have to do with it"

But from an unkind yet accurate appraisal, would you say the average Black person or white person wondering in the shop is more or less able to purchase the highest priced item?

Anyone who has ever worked on commission (white or black) has to admit you eye-ball the customers and play the odds at which one is a buyer.... and which is not

and you zoom to them accordingly.

Oddly enough depending on what you are selling, Blacks might be your preferred or most likely to buy customer.

SOmetimes white people do have such instances, I have relayed here before about being refused admittance in a bar at the beach because I was a Marine.

Sure it stunned me and pissed me off but later after thinking about it, I acknowledged the owners right to let in who he wanted, if it were my place I would want the same right.

[Dan and Judy 614]

Those stores are selling snobbery. You must be a good snob to properly sell it. The clerks can be more snobby than the snobs in an uncle tom sort of way.

Only an idiot would pay $500 for a purse if they are not trying to be a snob. Opra has made her fortune by connecting with people and being nice, her

persona is actually anti-snob, So she is more or less a professional anti-snob and that's the persona she projects,

How is the poor clerk supposed to know she really is a snob when she is always acting like she isn't,

I've heard that some people can have split personalities. Maybe that is what Opra is suffering from. She needs to get in touch with her inner snob.

That sounds about right to me.

Edited August 10, 2013 by Dan and Judy

[Jacque67 7,328]

Those stores are selling snobbery. You must be a good snob to properly sell it. The clerks can be more snobby than the snobs in an uncle tom sort of way.

Only an idiot would pay $500 for a purse if they are not trying to be a snob. Opra has made her fortune by connecting with people and being nice, her

persona is actually anti-snob, So she is more or less a professional anti-snob and that's the persona she projects,

How is the poor clerk supposed to know she really is a snob when she is always acting like she isn't,

I've heard that some people can have split personalities. Maybe that is what Opra is suffering from. She needs to get in touch with her inner snob.

That sounds about right to me.

Agree but it is not only her inner snob but her insecurities.

[Dan and Judy 614]

Agree but it is not only her inner snob but her insecurities.

Maybe she was black when she was a little girl. That can be a traumatic experience

[Dan and Judy 614]

SOmetimes white people do have such instances, I have relayed here before about being refused admittance in a bar at the beach because I was a Marine.

Sure it stunned me and pissed me off but later after thinking about it, I acknowledged the owners right to let in who he wanted, if it were my place I would want the same right.

You wouldn't want a bunch of swabbies mucking up your bar

[Jacque67 7,328]

Maybe she was black when she was a little girl. That can be a traumatic experience

No idea ,

Won't take the bait. Wasn't she illegitimate or sexually abused by a relative. In any case she was screwed but managed to rise above her circumstances. Kudos to her , but she doesn't need to revenge herself so badly.

[Darnell 8,478]

Yeah so as I said it is to do with snobbery. At the risk of sounding racist, the Chinese tend to be more pragmatic and a sale is a sale. In the case of Switzerland where the internationally rich collect, if Oprah turned up without personal security at the shop the staff would assume she is middle class. This happens on Bond Street in London. The truly rich always have security detail.

Ya, this was the bit, really. OW should have showed up with either her entourage or her goons (security detail) and she didn't. The normal assumption prevailed, and now she's all butthurt.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

Quite a few. Since I know officers and high ranking enlisted, they could save up a few months and get that purse. Heck I could get it if I wanted it bad enough. And in your case, the clerk should have taken care of you first if you were in there first. I don't assume anything, I've been in customer service for 20 years.

My point is what is it about her that made the clerk tell her she couldn't afford it? She wasn't dressed like a bum(she was there for Tina Turner's wedding), she asked the clerk 3 times to see the purse and was told it was too expensive. If a sales clerk is going to haggle you down, it has to come from you. Not from them.

I was an offcier for 13 years. I don't know any that could buy a 35K purse. Ok given many of us could, but what sane person that is not worth millions would.

[The Nature Boy 4,224]

What woman working at a shop that sells that kind of merchandise doesn't want a sale? You're making silly excuses. And no one answered my question. What is it about Oprah that says she couldn't afford it? You act as if she went in there with flip flops and a tank top. But I know you tend to always believe that about us.

Maybe the store you were trying to get in was a privately owned store that only sold to a certain clientele. This was a public store. If you were black, you would laugh at the stuff you post here daily.

When was the last time a white actor/actress has been denied sale anywhere in the world? I've looked and I can't find it. And if you look at the video, Oprah didn't want to use her clout, she wanted the woman to sell her the bag without having to explain who she was. She is a customer, if the lady doesn't want to sell the bag, get another job.

What is it about me that says i can't afford LV. I surely could if I was that stupid with my money.

Everything has to be about race. However you are just as guilty. A black man buying LV in ATL has to be a rapper according to you. If a white public personality had said that you would be screaming racism at the top of your lungs.

I would hope if I was looking at something very costly, a good clerk would show me a comparable item that cost much less.

When Blacks cry Racism about everything and anything, the crys tend to get ignored when it is a real case of racism.

Just as a side note it surly cuts the other way also. Many times I have had black coworkers offer food to every black person in the room and skip the only white. Same with black clerks walking past me to help other blacks.