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On Monday, representatives from the Dayton Unit NAACP, along with Dewberry and her niece, met with executive team members from Sleep Number, to allow Dewberry to share what she experienced at the store on Dec. 13, NAACP said.
The meeting was productive, and Dewberry was satisfied with the resolution, the NAACP said.
“We are appreciative that the Sleep Number Leadership Team worked cooperatively to resolve this matter,” said Mattie P. White, interim president of the Dayton Unit NAACP.
Julie Elepano, a spokeswoman for Sleep Number, confirmed the settlement Tuesday afternoon.
“I cannot disclose terms but will say that we are happy to have improved this regrettable situation for Ms. Dewberry,” Elepano said.
The NAACP said Sleep Number agreed to its recommendations, including issuing both a verbal and written apology to Dewberry and an undisclosed financial settlement agreement.
In an apology letter, Sleep Number Regional Vice President Kate Banse thanked Dewberry for the the opportunity to speak with her directly about the “unfortunate situation” she endured at the store.
“On behalf of Sleep Number, I once again hope that you accept my sincere apology,” Banse said in the letter. “This is my store, my market and my Region and I am 100% accountable to your experience.”
Banse thanked Dewberry for “the love and wisdom” she shared with Sleep Number officials during the call and said it “had a profound effect” on her. She provided Dewberry with her phone number and email address and invited her or her niece to call or write her if she needed anything.
Sleep Number also agreed to “diffusion, de-escalation and bias free customer service training” for all store personnel starting on Saturday the NAACP said.
Other management decisions by Sleep Number will be made with store personnel pending the outcome of a store meeting, NAACP said.
Dewberry said she made the purchase in November, and when the product was delivered Dec. 11, she had misplaced her initial sales slip and did not remember some of the information on the bill that arrived. She said after three calls and not being able to reach a person, she called the store again Dec. 13 and said she would be coming in-person.
When she arrived, she said she was directed to a seat at the empty manager’s desk, and about 10 minutes later, the manager came over. She said she tried to tell him she wanted someone to go over the figures with her, but that he picked up the phone and shoved it toward her.
“I said, ‘Sir, I got dressed to come down here to talk to a person, not on the phone again,’ " Dewberry said.
Dewberry said the manager then told her she had to leave, but she said she wasn’t going anywhere without an explanation of her bill. The manager said he was going to call the police, and she called her husband.
Dewberry ended up being escorted out by three police officers and trespassed from the store.
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