Ross Dress for Less

This evening on 2/7/2023, I went to my neighborhood Ross Store where I shop frequently with no complaint about service. However, this evening as soon as I walked into the store the entrance was cordoned off by about 4-5 Vevor Stanchions used for crowd control and the only way you could get beyond the customary greeting employee was if he unhooked the rubber pieces attached to metal poles. As I walked into the store I was inside of this maze and the employee greeted "Welcome to Ross"as I stood inside the store just beyond the sliding doors because I did not have access to go beyond the security guard and the employee at the booth. I asked,"What is going on? He said,"We are just monitoring,"as he unhooked the bands stretched across the metal poles to enable me to walk past the booth he stands behind to greet customers. He had an item in his hand and I asked again,"What are you monitoring, and did you just take my picture?"He was polite and stated,"No, we are just monitoring the volume inside the store."I asked,"Did something happen earlier?"No we are just monitoring." So, I commence to shopping but I still was bothered by the quarantined entrance inside the store. It is a fire hazard because once the customer steps through the doors they are inside this maze that is locked and it is placed directly in front of the doors. If there was an emergency, and people had to exit quickly, a person could be inside this maze which blocks the entrance once inside the store. I went back and asked "What really are you monitoring? He said there had been thefts and this was to prevent thefts. I asked"How that contraption would prevent thefts?"He said"Well if people have to look us directly in the eyes they may not steal." He was talking about while a person is inside the containment waiting to be unhitched and they had that interaction they may be less inclined to steal. I disagreed. If a person has criminal intent, nothing will deter a criminal. Personally, it is offensive that in a store that caters to predominantly Black and Brown population, putting us in a quarantined box at the entrance of the store to monitor volume and to deter thefts, is biased. If this is not done nationwide at Ross Dress for Less, it is a discriminating practice. The employee was uncomfortable and stated he didn't feel comfortable doing this and did not come up with the idea. I understood and was not giving him a hard time. But I knew as a Black customer that this was racially oriented. This is a fire hazard and a posssible liability for Ross Stores as the store could be facing a civil lawsuit if this quarantine device is not removed which blocks the entrance of the store located at 1060 Brentwood Road, NE Washington DC 20002. These attached pictures are not the actual stanchions but I am attaching because this is the type of stanchion but arranged in a way that looked like a maze and could hold more than one person. This was not for crowd control because the store never has a lot of people in the store where customers must be monitored and the store is very big.

Signed Ms. Dean [protected]@gmail.com