"I need a MALE associate for customer carry out"

[Seshat]

This actually stems from victorian principles when ladies were treated akin to porcelain.

<snip>

So, ladies, I would suggest that if a gentleman offers his assistance, do not be offended. We (for I was raised to be a) gentlemen are not seeing that you are unfit to carry a package, hold open a door, or are otherwise handicapped by your gender.

But being a porcelain doll on a pedestal IS being unfit to do things.

Fortunately, most modern gentlemen don't expect us to live up to the restrictive standards that middle and upper class ladies of the Victorian era were expected to maintain. I'll accept the forms of gentility, and even return such of them as I know.

I'm only offended if a man expects me to be constrained by fashion, deem myself too genteel to get dirty, and restrict my life to a narrow range of acceptable behaviours and interests.

I change my own tires, dammit. (Unless I'm wearing velvet, satin or lace.)

[SuperDan]

I change my own tires, dammit. (Unless I'm wearing velvet, satin or lace.)

Just the same as us guys then.

Sorry, couldn't resist.

[Kilamon]

Just the same as us guys then.

LOL The last time I had to change a tire, I was in a hurry to get a vacuum cleaner to the repair shop before they closed. I hit something in the road, pulled off the check the tires and, wouldn't you know it, I had a flat. I called the Fiancee, told her of the situation, and proceeded to change the tire. Called her when it was done and she asked me if I worked for NASCAR. Only took me 10 minutes! Those scissor jacks are slow. (And yes, I did get the repair done to the vacuum).

[tollbaby]

I change my own tires, dammit. (Unless I'm wearing velvet, satin or lace.)

ooooh would you teach me how?

[Luna]

back in music store hell in the 2 hours away from home location I was forced to work at...

a customer wanted someone to carry a dvd rack he purchsed to his car. The box couldn't have weighed anymore than 30 pounds - and the guy was well over 6 feet tall and pretty big - but I thought maybe he has back issues or something so I asked if he could come back when my other employee came back from break since I was the only one there.

He was miffed that I didn't have any strong young men working that day. it was just lil old 4" 11" me, and the girl on break? 5' 3" and most likely almost half my weight.

The annoying thing is - it's a mall music store. Doing a carry out is not anywhere in my job description but I'm a nice girl. Seeing the guys face as I hefted the box onto my shoulder and told him to go get his car was outstanding. Seeing the looks on everyone else's faces as lil old me takes two steps to his every one carrying said box on my shoulder was even better.

It's not like it was some big ticket purchase either - it was $20.

[DesignFox]

I miss doing shipment at my mall job. Some of the looks I'd get for the lifting I can do... Little me...barely 5' tall. I could get some of the heavier boxes up the ladder and onto the top shelf...then there was the day I shocked the boss by carrying out a bunch of stuff that to his mind I probably shouldn't be capable of lifting... *sigh* I got a good workout doing that stuff.

[MCSledgehammer]

I spent all my summers building houses with my dad, so I'm pretty darned fit (I've been known to carry twice my weight up a ladder many, many times a day. I loathe reshingling roofs.)
When I first started at the hardware store, one of our managers decided to play a practical joke on me.
Manager: Hey, MC, go get two bags of concrete and bring 'em up here, will ya? You shouldn't need a dolly...
Me: (naively) Ok, be right back. (Keep in mind, these bags weigh 80 pounds each- I weigh maybe 100 if I've got a pocket full of change.)
So I grab the bags of concrete, one on each shoulder, and wander back up to the counter, smiling all the while.
Me: So where do you want these?
Manager: Um.................. *stunned silence*

Hee hee. Just one more tiny victory in the war on chauvinist pigs! (There is a difference between gentlemen and pigs, btw. A gentleman will offer assistance, a pig will call you nasty names and assume you can't do your job. All you gentlemen, we like you. All you pigs, I'll be more than happy to drop your concrete on your toe.)

[myswtghst]

I feel ya, MC! I spent a summer on a worktrip, and all the guys in my group were scared of heights, so I reshingled the roof myself. I learned how to do a number of other things on that trip as well, including building a porch.

My sophomore and junior years of college, a group of my guy friends (including a few athletes and a Marine) lived in a house together. Most of the repairs done on the house (retiling the kitchen floor, fixing broken porch steps, etc) were done by me. The Marines parents showed up once while I was out back, working on the porch, and I don't think they ever let him live that down.

[danegrous_21]

well at my former job.(go look at the store policy quitting thread) we sold bbq pits and gun safes. most bbq where pre-assembled and where the made out of 3 foot diameter pipe type pits with smokers etc. some were the standered looking one too. ne way besides are footwear and apparel, out of the other 4 depts in the store, there is only one other girl. and she worked in camping. also gun safes are extremly heavy.trust me i know. im not going to say girls couldnt have done it, but we really didnt have any in the depts they sold the extremly heavy stuff in so we always called for male associate for a carryout.

[Seshat]

ooooh would you teach me how?

Sure thing.

Check out this piece: http://www.linuxchix.org/~jenn/nonfi...hangetire.html


Got any other car maintenance questions? (And we should move to an offtopic thread, if you do.)

[Shironu-Akaineko]

Woman asked me to call a grocery boy to pull out a bag of kitty litter.
The bag is half the size of the jumbo jet 767 sized bag of food I buy for my tiny dog once a month.
I simply pulled it out with one hand (Sand litter, not light stuff) and put it in her trolley and walked away with "Have a nice day~!"

[repsac]

Taking a break from my projects to post this. Since well, my current project (that's taking so much of my time) actually relates to something like this. The project is an independant movie called "Growing Up Southern", and without going into a ton of detail, it stems from a friendship and series of conversations I had with a friend from up north. Mostly, it's about the differences.

In one portion of it, there's a note on something similar to some of what's been said in the thread so far. The question arises as to politeness and the differences depending on your geographic location.

I'll not drag it all out, but when you get further south; you are more likely to hear or see these hold overs from the victorian era. Interestingly, it's not tied (historically) to the antebellum plantations and growers so much as it seems more tied to the colonial times. (you'll have to watch the movie when it comes out to see how that's explained. I know it's wonky here. :P)

Still, the point was made I belive by someone else, but I say it here: It depends on the location you are in and the general upbringing of those around you. In the southern US, you're more likely to have a man hold a door for you, or to hear the request for a male employee to help carry something out. Just as you are more likey to hear someone say "Yes Ma'am, No Ma'am." Even in cases where the woman is younger, or possibly even a girl. It's all cultural.

[alphaboi]

When I worked at the supermarket female associates never were sent to do carts. Ever. Our non-perishables manager (a women in her 30s) would sometimes do it (none of the male managers would no matter how bad it was). The store was in a smallish town, part of a busy strip mall, withing site of the local high school. One time we got really swamped. Every register was open and 2 girls clocked in. Our office manger (a woman) was duing front-end duty. She flat-out "asked" me to go do carts because she "didn't want to send the girls out". She was genuinly surprised, not anrgy, that got offended at that and said no.

[asopu10]

Well on the note of sexism when I need to get a heavy box down I usually ask one of my female coulegees to help because I'm not strong eneuth, and I'm a boy, so streotypes arn't always right! In fact I'd say at my workplace theres no sexism at all, we all share jobs equally, and a female assistant is just as likly to carry a heavy box as a male is to be cleaning. No sexism, which is very good!

[DrFaroohk]

I used to work at Wal-mart, and one of the reasons they would ask for a male associate is because there was a lady who was afraid to go out to the parking lot..maybe there was some rough looking characters outside or it was just really dark. I mean who do you want to escort you, a 90 pound, 4'11 princess, or a 300 pound, 6'3 beast?