Lowe’s delivery driver, Marcus Bradley , was reportedly ordered off his route because a customer did not want a black man inside her home. Bradley told the local media that he had worked for Lowe’s Home Improvement in Danville, Virginia for the past 11 years.
Marcus Bradley said he was shocked and devastated when the manager at the Danville Lowe’s complied with the customer’s instructions not to have a black delivery drive come inside her house. The Virginia man was reportedly already on the way to the home when his manager called him and told him to change drivers.
“I asked him why I couldn’t do it and he said because you’re black and they don’t want you at the house,” Bradley said. The Lowe’s delivery driver also noted that despite the incident, he will remain with the company. “I mean I gotta work. I’m going to keep going to work like I’ve always done. But I would think Lowe’s would take it into consideration to think about what they’re doing next time.”
When a local journalist tracked down the Lowe’s customer who did not want a black delivery driver in her home, she was asked if the refusal claims were true and if she “felt bad” about the entire incident.
“I got a right to have whatever I want and that’s it. ‘No, I don’t feel bad about nothing,” the woman told the CBS affiliate, WSET , reporter.
Alex Brooks, a white delivery driver who works with Bradley, did not agree with the way the situation was handled.
“To me, it just ain’t right for a business that we work at to go on with the woman’s wishes,” Brooks said.
The Lowe’s manager has not been replaced according to a release by the home improvement retailer, and an investigation has been launched into the matter. “It was one of those things like, ‘These guys will get over it. They’re tough guys, they’re delivery guys’ and that’s kind of where I just had to put my foot down and say I couldn’t do it with them.”
“Under no circumstances should a discriminatory delivery request be honored as it is inconsistent with our diversity and inclusion core values and the request should have been refused.”
What do you think about Lowe’s replacing a black delivery driver with a white one to complete a customer’s request?
[Image via: Ken Wolter/Shutterstock.com ]