While roaming the aisles, they were approached by a staff member and were told security had alerted staff to their actions.
What were they doing to arouse such suspicion?
They weren't running up and down the aisles stuffing items into bags without paying for them.
They say they were just browsing, looking to buy Aiomai's mum a Christmas present - her favourite perfume.
They were told they needed to be accompanied while they shopped.
The cousins said the staff member then turned to Aiomai and said she looked "undesirable".
They viewed the incident as an example of "racial profiling" and I share that view.
Not only did this incident ruin what would have been an enjoyable outing, it is something Aiomai may carry with her for a very long time.
"The spirit is still lost within her and she just wants to stay home with us but she said she feels happy she's told her story and hopes it helped," her mum says.
Farmers has said it is investigating what happened in this incident.
It's unthinkable that in 2021 this sort of thing can still happen.
Sadly, it does. In places such as the US, racial profiling and racial bias happen.
As in Aiomai and Shae's case, black customers report being followed around by store employees.
Hispanic and Muslim students get asked if they're really American.
There have been many instances of police being called on black people just going about their daily business.
Black, Latino and Asian customers get charged higher car interest rates than white customers - even if they have similar credit histories.
One study found that white job interviewers sat further away from black applicants than from white applicants and ended the interviews 25 per cent sooner.
It's clear to me that, in America, racism is systemic and embedded.
I hope that, here in New Zealand, we have made more progress towards ending this.
Our collective national psyche as New Zealanders should not allow incidents like Aiomai's and Shae's to happen.
But, in my opinion, this incident shows there is more work to do.
