She remembered Patricia telling Amira she wasn't qualified to ask questions.
Now it seemed painfully obvious that the young employee's insistence on accurate verification had been exactly what the company needed.
The first customer complaint Diana personally reviewed came from a retired Black physician named Dr. Elaine Porter.
Elaine was sixty-eight.
She had practiced pediatric medicine for more than thirty years and lived in Pasadena with her husband.
Several months earlier, she visited the Beverly Hills boutique to purchase a diamond bracelet for her granddaughter's college graduation.
She had a confirmed appointment.
But Patricia questioned whether she understood the price range and suggested she look at less expensive items.
Elaine politely explained what she wanted.
The manager continued redirecting her.
Then a younger white customer entered without an appointment and was immediately offered access to the premium collection.
Elaine left.
Later, she wrote a complaint.
The response from Aurelle said the situation involved a misunderstanding concerning appointment availability.
No one contacted her for a detailed account.
And the complaint was marked resolved.
Diana read the file twice.
Then called Elaine herself.
The physician answered cautiously.
When Diana introduced herself, there was a pause.
Then Elaine said, "I thought your company wasn't interested in hearing from me."
Diana felt ashamed.
"I'm sorry the response gave you that impression."
Elaine was quiet.
Then she described the experience.
She didn't shout.
She didn't exaggerate.
She simply explained how humiliating it felt to be treated as though she couldn't afford the bracelet she'd selected.
Diana listened without interrupting.
When Elaine finished, the CEO took a breath.
"You should have been treated respectfully whether you intended to spend five dollars or five hundred thousand."
The physician laughed softly.
"That's what I thought."
Diana smiled sadly.
Then asked whether Elaine would be willing to provide her account to the independent review.
The older woman hesitated.
"Will anybody actually do anything with it?"
Diana looked toward her mother's photograph on the office wall.
"That's my responsibility to establish."
Elaine considered the answer.
Then agreed.
Diana discovered that Patricia's treatment of customers wasn't an isolated problem.
The independent review examined a broader sample of complaints, appointment records, and employee statements.
Several customers described being asked repeatedly to prove they could afford items before receiving ordinary service.
Some said they were followed closely despite behaving no differently from other shoppers.
Others reported being told that certain collections weren't available when subsequent records showed the same items being offered to clients with similar appointment status.
Not every complaint established discrimination.
Some involved scheduling errors or genuine misunderstandings.
But the overall pattern was troubling.
And several employees described being encouraged to judge potential customers according to appearance and assumptions about wealth.