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A Southern California woman threw away her receipt after shopping at Erewhon. When she returned to the store to pick up the bag, she argued with the store clerk and security guard because she could not immediately prove payment, and accused the other party of making racial remarks.
I spent 125.86 yuan on food. When I went back to the store to get a bag, I had to rummage through the trash to find a receipt to prove payment.Southern California A woman recently shared her shopping experience at Erewhon Supermarket in Culver City. She said that even after showing the receipt, security personnel interrogated her because some of her meals had not been paid for. He was not allowed to leave until the manager inspected him again. He also alleged that during the custody period he said somethingracial discrimination If it makes sense, let him decide not to patronize again.
According to Morning Honey, a woman named Jania has posted a video from her TikTok account @niyy_3.0, in which the dispute over asking for a bag has been told. In the video, she showed shopping receipts and food photos, saying that she first ordered three smoothies at the self-service ordering machine that day, and then purchased two hot meals, French toast and other products, and paid a total of 125.86 yuan at checkout.
Jania said that while checking out, the cashier complimented her outfit and that the shopping process was normal. After this he ate food outside the shop and threw away the receipt when the food was almost complete. She then went back to the store and tried to get a bag to put the food in, but the clerk refused because there were no labels on the hot food.
She asked why she couldn’t take the bag, and the other party asked for a receipt. Jania said she had to go back and get the receipt out of the trash and show it to security for inspection before she could get the bag. Security also helped him put the luggage in his bag, but the matter did not end here.
According to her account, when she came out of the bathroom, the same security guard stopped her again and claimed that some of the food in the bag was not hers, which meant she had not paid. “It was the security guard who just stopped me and helped me put things in the bag. He told me that these things were not what I bought.”
Janiya said the security guard produced a small receipt that listed only three smoothies, and insisted that it was her receipt; But he had previously shown a purchase receipt found in the trash that listed other items.
Ultimately, the manager scanned the receipt again before letting it go. Janiya also alleged that a security guard once told a bar manager: “Look, it’s always them.” Jania is African-American. He believed the comment was racially charged and expressed his dissatisfaction in the video.
The above experiences and comments related to discrimination were made by Jania in the video. The Morning Honey report did not include the response of Erewhon or the security guard involved.
Similar disputes over customer behavior have also appeared in public complaint records of the Better Business Bureau (BBB). Another female customer who claimed to be Latina complained in August 2025 that after paying at Erewhon, she was stopped by security, had bags inspected, and was accused of carrying products in the nutrition section, believing she was treated differently. Public records do not show the name of the store where the purchase was made.
Erewhon responded to the complaint. At that time, the store manager communicated directly with the customer and handled it in the store. No evidence of discriminatory behavior was found and they apologized for the customer’s inconvenience. The company also emphasizes that it will not tolerate racial discrimination or abusive behavior and is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment for customers and employees.
As for this shopping experience, Jania said at the end of the video: “I won’t go there again, Erewhon won’t make any more money from me.”
Summary FAQ
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She first purchased smoothies, hot meals and other products and then ate outside the store. Later, she went back to the store to get a bag to keep the food, but because she had thrown away the receipt, she had to dig through the trash to find the receipt as proof of payment.
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Even after the woman showed her receipt, the security guard still believed that some of the food in the bag was not hers, and pulled out a receipt that only mentioned three cups of smoothie to interrogate her. It wasn’t until the manager double-checked that he confirmed he had paid.
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He said that while being stopped by security, the other party said racially offensive words, which made him feel humiliated and insulted. Therefore, she made a public statement that she would not patronize the store again in the future.
