Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Abercrombie and Fitch Sells Sex not Sweaters.

Willravel · 08-30-2004, 07:29 PM

Havign worked at A & F for about a six monthe period, I have to say that I don't much care for the people that the company employs (with a few exceptions, of course). Let me explain this a bit. I worked in a very large mall Abercrombie on the west coast. The area I live in has a very large number of Latino, Asian, and Black communities. None of wich were hired, unless they were what most people consider white wash. The ration of white to any other ethnicity was about 30:1 in a store of about 60. You get the idea. Also, the average phisique of the worker was somewhere between 'best-looking person at your highschool' and 'Brat Pitt and Jessica Simpson'. Neither of these rules was exclusive to the floor workers. Poeple who worked in the stock room and who worked the night shift - people who were never seen by the customers - were also required to look this way. We were also required to wear Abercrombie cloths and specific shoes! I complained about that, because I did not make enough working there to buy cloths like that; even with the employee discount. They basically told me to shut up or be fired, so I explained to them that California law gies me the right to wear something other than their clothes.
After that, I was basically an outsider. I only took the job to make my car insurance payments and for gas money. Eventually I made my way back into their graces with really good, and hard, work and shutting my big mouth. I was invited to sit in on interviews for new employees. We would hire about 10 or 15 at a time, seeing as there was such a quick turn around for working there (I wonder why?). What I heard the person in charge of hiring say after the interview shocked the hell out of me. This is almost a direct quote, "I can't beleive those chinks still think they can work here!!!" I immediatally demanded that person (a manager) to fire me. She did.

Since then there was a lawsuit involving asians (a 'two wongs will make it white' shirt showing asians doing dry cleaning) and there was another involving the strict dress code.

I won't ever shop there again.

Feel free to show my story in your school news paper.

08-30-2004, 07:29 PM	#62 (permalink)
Willravel ... a sort of licensed troubleshooter.	Havign worked at A & F for about a six monthe period, I have to say that I don't much care for the people that the company employs (with a few exceptions, of course). Let me explain this a bit. I worked in a very large mall Abercrombie on the west coast. The area I live in has a very large number of Latino, Asian, and Black communities. None of wich were hired, unless they were what most people consider white wash. The ration of white to any other ethnicity was about 30:1 in a store of about 60. You get the idea. Also, the average phisique of the worker was somewhere between 'best-looking person at your highschool' and 'Brat Pitt and Jessica Simpson'. Neither of these rules was exclusive to the floor workers. Poeple who worked in the stock room and who worked the night shift - people who were never seen by the customers - were also required to look this way. We were also required to wear Abercrombie cloths and specific shoes! I complained about that, because I did not make enough working there to buy cloths like that; even with the employee discount. They basically told me to shut up or be fired, so I explained to them that California law gies me the right to wear something other than their clothes. After that, I was basically an outsider. I only took the job to make my car insurance payments and for gas money. Eventually I made my way back into their graces with really good, and hard, work and shutting my big mouth. I was invited to sit in on interviews for new employees. We would hire about 10 or 15 at a time, seeing as there was such a quick turn around for working there (I wonder why?). What I heard the person in charge of hiring say after the interview shocked the hell out of me. This is almost a direct quote, "I can't beleive those chinks still think they can work here!!!" I immediatally demanded that person (a manager) to fire me. She did. Since then there was a lawsuit involving asians (a 'two wongs will make it white' shirt showing asians doing dry cleaning) and there was another involving the strict dress code. I won't ever shop there again. Feel free to show my story in your school news paper.