Beau
Regular Member
Well it finally happened. After years of OC with no negative interactions I was asked to disarm and told not to carry in their store.
Location: Havana and Mississippi in Aurora.
Date and Time: March 15th at Approximately 1500
Place: Kohl's
Today I went into Kohl's to exchange a couple online purchases. I walked to the rear of the store to the customer counter. Stood in line for about 10 minutes. Spoke with service desk lady and went to find the item I wanted. Walked around store for about 15 minutes. When I returned to the customer counter there was a man there talking on the phone. He approached me and introduced himself. He then asked if I was law enforcement and when I said no he asked the reason for my carry. He then informed me that they don't allow that there and I would need to exit the store and disarm.
I left the store, placed my firearm inside my vehicle and went back in to further speak with this person. I won't type everything that was said. The conversation did go quite well. He is an ex cop and is now in charge of loss prevention. He explained that the policy was from corporate and not the store. He did seem quite surprised when I informed him that this was the first time I had been asked to leave a business because of my OC.
I have sent the letter three times and still have not received a response. Their website states they will reply within 24 hours.
Letter I sent:
To whom it may concern,
I am writing about an experience I had while shopping at the Aurora West location on March 15, 2011. I was at this store with my two children and my mother to exchange a couple of on-line purchases. The customer service we received while exchanging the items was terrific.
What was not terrific is that I was asked to leave the store because I was openly carrying a firearm in a legal and safe manner. In the state of Colorado it is legal to carry a firearm in plain view.
After standing in the customer service line for about 10 minutes my family and I then walked through the store to locate the items for our exchange. This took another 10 minutes at least. We then returned to the customer service line to complete our exchange. While standing in line I was approached by a gentleman who introduced himself as Brian Akonom. He stated he was the head of the loss prevention department. He asked me if I was in law enforcement. When I informed him that I was not he asked why I was carrying. I replied for the protection of myself and my family. He then stated that the carry of firearms, except for law enforcement, was not allowed in Kohl's and asked me to leave. I immediately complied and left the store. I placed my firearm in my vehicle and returned to the store to further speak with Brian. He informed me that the rule regarding the carry of firearms is a corporate policy and not a store policy. I was also led to believe that concealed carry was allowed by default since there is no way to regulate that method of carry. Also that had I been a law enforcement officer, even if not on duty, I would have been allowed to carry.
In no way am I complaining about my interaction with Brian. He was very polite and professional while answering my questions.
My main question is this. Does Kohl's prohibit the legal and safe carry of firearms in their stores? If so, I can no longer give any Kohl's store my business. Nor will I continue to shop on-line.
If it is Kohl's policy to abide by local and state laws regarding the carry of firearms then please inform the Aurora West location of the proper policy.
Thank you for your time in this matter.
Sincerely,
Beau
303-xxx-xxxx
Update:
I spoke with Amy again.
Her answer was a non answer. Kohl's does not prohibit carry in their stores. Nor do they allow it.
Apparently Kohl's policy is to take matters regarding firearms on a case by case basis. In my case two customers and a sales associate complained about my carrying a firearm. So the store decided I should leave.
When I asked if I could have this policy in writing I was told that would not be possible.
I asked to speak with someone higher. She told me she would have the regional manager call me. I have not heard anything further.
Location: Havana and Mississippi in Aurora.
Date and Time: March 15th at Approximately 1500
Place: Kohl's
Today I went into Kohl's to exchange a couple online purchases. I walked to the rear of the store to the customer counter. Stood in line for about 10 minutes. Spoke with service desk lady and went to find the item I wanted. Walked around store for about 15 minutes. When I returned to the customer counter there was a man there talking on the phone. He approached me and introduced himself. He then asked if I was law enforcement and when I said no he asked the reason for my carry. He then informed me that they don't allow that there and I would need to exit the store and disarm.
I left the store, placed my firearm inside my vehicle and went back in to further speak with this person. I won't type everything that was said. The conversation did go quite well. He is an ex cop and is now in charge of loss prevention. He explained that the policy was from corporate and not the store. He did seem quite surprised when I informed him that this was the first time I had been asked to leave a business because of my OC.
I have sent the letter three times and still have not received a response. Their website states they will reply within 24 hours.
Letter I sent:
To whom it may concern,
I am writing about an experience I had while shopping at the Aurora West location on March 15, 2011. I was at this store with my two children and my mother to exchange a couple of on-line purchases. The customer service we received while exchanging the items was terrific.
What was not terrific is that I was asked to leave the store because I was openly carrying a firearm in a legal and safe manner. In the state of Colorado it is legal to carry a firearm in plain view.
After standing in the customer service line for about 10 minutes my family and I then walked through the store to locate the items for our exchange. This took another 10 minutes at least. We then returned to the customer service line to complete our exchange. While standing in line I was approached by a gentleman who introduced himself as Brian Akonom. He stated he was the head of the loss prevention department. He asked me if I was in law enforcement. When I informed him that I was not he asked why I was carrying. I replied for the protection of myself and my family. He then stated that the carry of firearms, except for law enforcement, was not allowed in Kohl's and asked me to leave. I immediately complied and left the store. I placed my firearm in my vehicle and returned to the store to further speak with Brian. He informed me that the rule regarding the carry of firearms is a corporate policy and not a store policy. I was also led to believe that concealed carry was allowed by default since there is no way to regulate that method of carry. Also that had I been a law enforcement officer, even if not on duty, I would have been allowed to carry.
In no way am I complaining about my interaction with Brian. He was very polite and professional while answering my questions.
My main question is this. Does Kohl's prohibit the legal and safe carry of firearms in their stores? If so, I can no longer give any Kohl's store my business. Nor will I continue to shop on-line.
If it is Kohl's policy to abide by local and state laws regarding the carry of firearms then please inform the Aurora West location of the proper policy.
Thank you for your time in this matter.
Sincerely,
Beau
303-xxx-xxxx
Update:
I spoke with Amy again.
Her answer was a non answer. Kohl's does not prohibit carry in their stores. Nor do they allow it.
Apparently Kohl's policy is to take matters regarding firearms on a case by case basis. In my case two customers and a sales associate complained about my carrying a firearm. So the store decided I should leave.
When I asked if I could have this policy in writing I was told that would not be possible.
I asked to speak with someone higher. She told me she would have the regional manager call me. I have not heard anything further.
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