I’m going to blog more about this in the next few days or submit it to Hackney Hive .
Just been speaking with a friend in Crouch End who use to go into the Finsbury Park branch, and like me has stopped shopping there.
I frequented the shop on Chatsworth Road and have been into the one in Kilburn and had a horrendous experience at the one that was on Lea Bridge Road, Leyton some years ago…. it’s closed now.
Their cosmetics are cheap crap and would I never dream of buying or using any of their stuff on my skin, but they are good for black hair products, that you can’t get at supermarkets, pharmacies or department stores.
The way they treat Black women is well documented over the world wide web on black forums and blogs….lots of complaints, but no one does anything and they go on making their millions.
They don’t hire women to work on the shop floor, but instead have Asian men who can barely speak English, let alone advise women on any of the products. And that’s not all, they have the nerve to follow you around the store as if you are going to steal.
And they way they leer at you, as if they have never seen a pair of breast, is enough to make me take a shower as soon as I get home.
Feel free to email me about your negative expereinces at PAK’s at: hackneysduchess[at]gmail dot com (using the correct format)
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Hackney livin' n lovin'. Sarky frosty knickers always gobby, and perpetually pissed off. Loves her dogs, booze and good food. Uber Fraiser, Sons of Anarchy , Nashville and Boston Legal fan. 
I'm all too familiar with these people and their ways and I'd like to hear more. I too will never shop there again nor will most of my friends.
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I totally agree with the lack of customer care and service operated by this company. If we agree to boycott them (flash mob in reverse)then they might just learn that the customer always comes first regardless of race.
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I haven't revisited this post, but I promise I will soon. Maybe because I stopped going there it hasn't been foremost on my mind, however I did speak to the director of the company (at least he claimed he was) who was very rude and dismissive.It's gone on for far too long.
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I am sooo glad someone has spoken up about this, I hate the place but feel forced to go in because of the lack of options, every time I go in there I leave angry. they are very rude and they know nothing about the product they sell. on one particular visit as soon as I stepped in the shop one of the staff asked me if I was looking for bleaching product and tried to direct me to the aisle. when they are actually nice it’s OTT and you know it’s not genuine. The worst thing is that they stop black owned shops from opening up and those who have tried do not succeed because of the competition. I cant imagine any other racial group tolerating so much crap and not fighting back!!!!
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They follow everyone around btw, not just black women. I’m a white girl, and so’s my girlfriend and whether we’re together or separate in there, we’ve both commented on being stalked around the aisles by those blokes. I do feel uncomfortable with it but I figure, the place probably gets shoplifted from a lot otherwise. And they have a really good selection of stuff so I guess I’ll keep going there.
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I’m sure shoplifting is a problem for them like everyone else but I have watched those men at work and it’s not nice. I have only ever seen black people in Paks.
I don’t like the fact that they don’t hire women either, I mean what does an Asian man who barely speaks English know about my type of hair? I spoke to someone who said he was the ‘director’ at their head office, was very rude to me.
And then there is the ogling. They practically undress you with their eyes….too creepy for me.
What do you buy there?
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I used to accompany a friend of mine (white as well) who shops there for certain hair dye she can’t find elsewhere.
It’s disusting how they stare, and I too want to shower afterwards.
if it’s only a couple of things you go there for you can’t find elsewhere, maybe ask an independent shopkeeper to stock them? I’m sure they’re happy about any new business they can attract.
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I stopped shopping there years ago. I get my hair products elsewhere or on line and lotions , potions and make up from.. Body shop, MAC, Fashion Fair and Clarin counters.
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I buy all kinds of toiletries there, they have loads of stuff that’s not black or asian specific. Head n Shoulders for my dandruff, bath stuff, toothpaste, hair dye…
I dunno, as for ogling, I really just try to tune that out, I mean it happens everywhere, not that that excuses it, it’s gross wherever and whenever it happens.
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I’ve not had bad experiences at Pak’s as I’ve not shopped there, and surely that’s the point – do we have to patronise these shops? But when I want genuine shea/cocoa butter to take away the arthritis from my knee then I go to a shop in West Green Road which is owned and run by Ghanaian women. Sorry I don’t know the name of the shop but as you get out of Seven Sisters station (Tottenham High Road exit) then bear left into West Green Road, the shop is on the right hand side, about two shops before the Jamaican bakery. A homely shop,with lots of conversations about the products they sell, Ghana and whether the movie Good Hair has any value.
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Oh and one other thing – if we really hate these shops, surely it is about time we set one up for ourselves! It’s insulting that, as you say, the ‘assistant’ can’t speak a word of English, they don’t know the products and what they can do and of course, they follow you around – whether it is to ogle or to see if you steal.
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I used to shop from them online but boycotted them after one particular experience. I purchased a wig from them only to receive a call saying they were sold out of what I wanted but could send me one tat looked almost identical and they would lower the price so I wouldn’t pay extra. After the shop reassured me the wig was almost exactly as the one I wanted, I finally said he could send it. To make a long story short, not only did the wig look nothing like the one I had ordered, but it began to go bald in the top and left my clothes black because it had been dyed (I found grey hair mixed in the wig). After getting tricked like that, I will never give them my business again.
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I’m not surprised. These people don’t employ women in their stores and you usually have to deal with Asian men, some who speak very little English and have no knowledge of black hair and skin.
Anyway they don’t carry a decent cosmetic line and I have only bought shampoo, conditioners and hair moisturizers from them, but stopped 4 years ago.
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