Electronics retailer JB Hi-Fi is facing a storm of social media backlash after staff at a Brisbane store were accused of refusing entry to a man with Down's syndrome.
Queenslander Victoria Milne posted on Facebook about the incident, in which a security guard refused to let her brother James enter the Mt Ommaney store, after mistaking him for another man with Down's syndrome who had been blacklisted.
"I have never been so disgusted and mad in my life," Ms Milne posted on Facebook.
She said when her brother, James, and her father went to enter the store the security guard stepped in front of James and said he wasn't allowed to enter.
"My dad asked to see the manager and while he is being called, the security guard goes through his phone to find a photo of the young man that they think is my brother. When my dad and the manager are shown a photo of a white male who also had Down's syndrome, my dad says it's clearly not James, who has olive skin, and the manager replied "well they look the same"."
Ms Milne said although the evidence pointed to the fact the two men were different people, James was still refused entry.
"By this stage James, the sweetest boy who is still in love with The Wiggles and Ben 10, was visibly upset at what was happening and my dad took him home."
Ms Milne said her mother called the store demanding an apology, but was told by the manager he was allowed to refuse entry to whoever he wished.
The Facebook post has so far had almost 80,000 likes and more than 50,000 shares since it was uploaded yesterday.
JB Hi-Fi chief executive Richard Murray says he has since sent a personal letter of apology to James, and has posted on the company's Facebook page.
"JB Hi-Fi and the manager of our Mt Ommaney store believe that we could have managed this in a better way in the interests of James and his family. JB Hi-Fi is committed to learning from this and improving our customer experience across all of our stores," the post read.
The company says it is reviewing its customer policies as a result of this incident.
"We would like to apologise unreservedly to James," Mr Murray said. "We should have done better yesterday. We are going to make sure that we learn from this and do better in the future."
Mr Murray said JB Hi-Fi is trying to make direct contact with James and his family.
"James is a happy, fun loving guy so this hasn't dampened his spirit in the slightest," says Ms Milne.
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