In case you missed it here, I thought I’d share this e-mail I just got detailing a big little soap opera in the Park Cities. I hate people on cell phones in stores, but it sounds like a clerk at Cadeaux Chocolates and Gifts on W. Lovers went berserk on a customer. Settle in with popcorn:
I am writing to you because of an experience I had at Cadeaux Chocolates and Gifts store located at 4506 Lovers Lane. I moved to Dallas in the past few years and a girlfriend of mine just told me about this store. I needed to buy chocolates for my pre-school daughters’ teacher for her birthday. So this past Friday I went to the store. I was on a business call when I walked into the store.
It was my first time at the store, so I thought I would shop around first, not pick anything up as I wanted to wait until I ended my call. As I proceeded to look around I was asked if I needed help and I told the sales lady no that I was just looking. I was checking out the prices of the things I wanted and continued towards the back of the store where the owner was standing behind the chocolate counter. He asked me if I needed help and I told him no, that I was just browsing. He then yelled at me (while I was still on my business call) “You are so disrespectful! You are on your cell phone in my store looking at prices! How dare you. I have never seen anything so rude in my life. I was in shock. He was yelling at me and lecturing me. I was the only customer in the store. I was not speaking loudly, nor was I doing anything wrong. I told him I had never been in his shop before and that I had gifts to buy, but was trying to finish my call. He continued to yell at me about how rude I was and how the women in this neighborhood are lucky to have a store like his and that we all think we can get away with our behavior. I told him I had just moved here from Los Angeles and have never been yelled at by a store owner. I asked him when does a store owner yell at their customer? He continued to badger me and yell at me about how rude and disrespectful I was, so I told him I would never shop in his store again and neither would any of my friends since this is the way he treats his customers. As I was leaving his store I told my friend on the call that I was in a store called Cadeaux and he corrected my annunciation of his store name. As I left the store I turned around to get the address off the door and he flipped me off. I was still holding my call the entire time this was happening. My friend on the line was asking me if I was okay and asked who was yelling at me. I was telling her and I turned around a second time to get the address and tell her where I was and he was coming after me. I jumped in my car and backed up (it is a one way parking lot) and this man banged my car with his fists and jumped in front of my car so I couldn’t leave. He continued yelling at me, at which point I hung up with my girlfriend and called the police. Police officer Williams from the UP Police Department came and the owner yelled at him saying I was trying to copy his stuff and that the women in this neighborhood are always trying to copy him. I filed harassment charges against him for hitting my car and holding me against my will. He requested a sergeant to come to the scene. He then changed his story and told Sgt. Mutchler that I came into his store and started throwing merchandise. His sales lady also lied and verified his story that I did this. The owner then filed a criminal trespass warning against me based on his lies. The store owner had nothing damaged to show Sgt. Mutchler so I was told that all it meant was that I could never go in the store again (wouldn’t want to anyway). I have never had such a horrible incident happen to me. I am a stay at home mom with three young children. I couldn’t believe that this man could get away with lying to a police officer as well as verbally and physically assaulting a customer. I asked the officer if the store had a video camera and he asked the store and he was told no. I told the officer that everything would be on a tape and would show them that he was lying. I was truly afraid for my life and strongly believe this man needs anger management as well as possible medication for his behavior. As I started to share my frightening experience with my friends, I have heard numerous horrific stories about how mean this man is and how he berates, intimidates and scorns his customers. I went to the three shops surrounding his store to see if there were any witnesses and they all said he is a very mean man. I don’t know how someone like this owns and store and stays in business in this loving, safe and family oriented neighborhood.
