Everyone makes mistakes.

Sometimes, those mistakes include assuming someone works at a store and asking them for help, only to find out they don’t work there at all.

This teenage girl would have understood, but when the other customer pushed her shoulder, it made her very uncomfortable.

Here are the details.

Because I’m wearing black?

I (15F at the time this took place) was with my mom at a beauty supply store after she picked me up from school that day.

I was wearing my SCHOOL UNIFORM with my mom’s black work cardigan cause I was cold.

We were browsing, I was holding her basket, grabbing stuff off the shelves for her to see (I’m 1 inch taller than my mom lol)

We were in the middle of looking at something before I walked off to grab something else in another part of the store (with basket in my hand).

You’d think the basket would be a clue.

I was alone, scanning a shelf, still WITH BASKET OF STUFF in my hand when I heard “EXCUSE ME” and felt somebody was standing behind me.

I thought I was blocking her path or something so I moved even closer to the shelves and mumbled out “sorry” (the aisles aren’t even that small to begin with, there’s so much space).

EXCUSE ME?

Then I felt it. The hand pushing my shoulder.

So I turned around, wondering why this person was touching me.

Anyway when I turned around terrified I think she finally realized I was, in fact, NOT an underpaid minimum wage worker that she wanted to terrorize.

Then my mom came rounding the corner. “(Me), I found (something else), come see!”

So I RAN away from the lady and didn’t look back.

Mom asked what happened with the lady and I said nothing really happened, she just wanted to pass I think

(It really wasn’t important enough at the time for me to remember or it didn’t register in my head yet what happened)

The lady still didn’t realize what was going on.

Then we went to the cashier and we saw it. The lady was there. “THAT’S THE EMPLOYEE THAT IGNORED ME AND REFUSED TO HELP ME” or something to that effect

The cashier: “Ma’am that’s a child.”

Lady: “YOU NEED TO TRAIN THEM BETTER, SHE DIDN’T EVEN ASK ME ANYTHING, SHE JUST RAN”

Cashier: “That’s not an employee, that’s a customer”

Her mom didn’t let it go.

My mom realized the lady was talking about me and pointing to me and sent me to wait outside the store while she “handled things”

I went and got an ice cream by myself and waited outside for maybe 7 minutes before my mom come out with the bags.

I asked her what was up.

The lady apparently thought I was staff cause I was wearing a black cardigan. I was wearing my school uniform under it, very visibly.

White socks, white shoes, white shirt and blue skirt and tie. WITH MY SCHOOL MONOGRAM.

She said she thought I didn’t wanna help her cause she’s black 😔

My mom cut that stuff out really quick and said that she better leave us alone and stop talking before the police gets called for child abuse (for her touching me)

Good for her mom for handling things.

Check out what Reddit has to say about the incident.

Like, ever.

Really drive that idea home.

Mama bear activated.

Just go ahead and ask just to be safe.

Use your eyeballs, lady!

Unfortunate for everyone involved.

Maybe fewer assumptions next time.

If you liked that story, check out this post about an oblivious CEO who tells a web developer to “act his wage”… and it results in 30% of the workforce being laid off.