ABC comes calling in Merrick

What would you do if ABC producers called you, asking if they could film segments of a television show inside your store?

For Renee Arje, the answer was simple –– yes.

Arje, who owns the Merrick clothing store Inmotion with her husband, Harry, was contacted by producers from the ABC News television show “Primetime: What Would You Do?” in January, asking if they could film a portion of their show inside her shop.

“They were looking for locations and they came in my store and they liked the way it looked,” said Arje, of Oceanside. “They liked the people that were in here, the diversity of the customers we were getting, and they picked our store.”

The show, which began in 2009, airs on Fridays at 9 p.m., and is hosted by John Quiñones, who has been an ABC News correspondent since 1982.

Filming took place in late January over two days. According to Arje, it took hours to set up the cameras and microphones around the store, including several hidden cameras placed under merchandise.

"We had a blast,” said Arje. “We had so much fun. It was interesting to see what it takes to film a show. We were surprised at the amount of effort it took.”

On the show, actors stage everyday scenarios involving social injustice or, at times, illegal activity. The show focuses on how other people –– unaware that they are being filmed –– will react to a situation, and whether they will intervene. Once a situation begins to escalate, Quiñones steps in and informs everyone involved that they are being filmed for a television show, catching them by surprise.

One segment of the show filmed inside Inmotion aired on Feb. 18. In that instance, the scenario involved a young man shopping with his girlfriend. Both were actors. The man was yelling at his girlfriend, demanding that she purchase sexually provocative clothing, which she did not wish to do.

In the segment, which is available at abcnews.com, many bystanders in the store stood up for the girl, telling the boyfriend not to treat her that way.

Arje said that in a normal situation, she would intervene and force the argumentative customers to leave her store. However, she was instructed by the producers to stay back and tell others that she could not get involved.