sexist/racist/Homophobic customers

[Legal Eagle]

i came across a situation where sexism would have been appropiate.

i was being shown around a large outgoing call centre and one of the companies they catered for sold insurance to women who had a family history of breast cancer. pretty specialised. a stranger calling you up and needing to know these kind of details would be bad enough, but would any woman feel comfortable talking to a strange man about her breasts over the phone?

[Spiffy McMoron]

An old crappy Tire story:

I remember one time, a cantankerous old coot flagged me down as I was running from one area to the other. He wanted a belt for his power sander.

I don't know jack about power tools, at the best of times. So I got ahold of my (female) co-worker. I brought her over to give me a hand with this guy. The guy refused to take any of her advice, and insisted that I ask a man for help. She was furious, and went to the back to vent on boxes, and the manager finally came up, told the old guy the same thing that she told him, and (hopefully) instructed him to stop being such a dick.

[jashme]

I work in a meat locker, not a typical job for a girl, and we get a lot of Amish men in the store(its almost always men, the woman dont come in very often) anyways, they never EVER talk to me first. They go to my boss, a male, and ask how much they owe on their storage, I love the look on their faces when my boss says "You're going to have to talk to Jashme about that, she does all the bookkeeping stuff"---- Of course had they spoken to me when I asked "Can I help you" the moment wouldn't be as sweet

[RecoveringKinkoid]

Had an instance once when I actually got a sexist pig salesman when I was a potential customer. So this is not a sucky customer story, it's a sucky salesman store.

When I first moved out of my parent's house, back when rocks were soft, I decided to buy a trailer instead of moving into an apartment. I had some land with hookups I could use for free. Thus, I got housing for less than 200 bucks per month. Pretty sweet deal.

So I'm looking at trailers one day with my then-boyfriend in tow. Saleman kept talking to boyfriend insted of me. Boyfriend kept saying things like, "Dude, I just happened to be in her car when she decided to drop in here." and "Look, guy, I'm not buying anything from you, she is. Talk to her." and "Man, you need to talk to her. She's gonna get pissed."

Meanwhile, I'm saying things like "Hey. I'm your customer. Talk to me." and "Hello? He has his own apartment. I am looking to buy a trailer. Please talk to me."

So while he's talking to Boyfriend about how well made his trailers are, I'm crawling around knocking on walls and opening panels, to discover his trailers really were pieces of very shoddy work. Finally, I got up, looked him in the eye, and said "Hey. If either of us has to tell you one more time which of us is buying, here, I can promise you neither of us will be."

His response was to launch into a patronizing speil about how pretty the drapes were. Which he aimed at me.

My response was to stare at him a few moments , say "Oh, FUCK this." grab Boyfriend by the hand, and drag him back to the car.

How unbelievably insulting! Was this guy TRYING to run me off?

[notspearsdamnit]

The post by Ezrockspants reminded me of my own experience with ageist customers. Back when I was 19 (but looked like I was 14) I was working at a coffee shop. I was in the back washing dishes and glancing at the front register to keep an eye out for anyone who wanted to order. At one point I looked out to see a man standing at the register so I dried my hands and came out and said, "I'm sorry to keep you waiting, what can I get for you?" To which he replied, "Wow, you're real polite for a young person."
Yeah, because all young people are rude and obnoxious and mannerless. Sheesh.

[thelong1]

I have also experienced agism almost everywhere I've worked. When I was 17 I was promoted to AM of Blockbuster and people would hassle me all the time about how I was too young to be a manager. I was there for about 2 years then quit and worked at a Hollywood Video. I became an AM reletively quickly there too so I was 19 and getting the same crap from SC's about being young. Now, I am a loan officer at a bank, age 23, and I get even more crap now than ever about being too young to do my job. Clearly these people don't realize that people are promoted for a reason, and it is usually that reason is because they can and will consistently do a good job and they know what they are talking about.

One time though at Blockbuster I have get an older lady (40ish) who was so impressed with my service and the fact that I was a young assistant manager that she offered me some crappy job for her company. Actually, I've had a few crappy job offers because of this, so I guess it can work both ways. But seriously, when your crappy business card is clearly printed and cut from your home printer, its not giving me the best impression of your company.

[Jester]

For a bit I worked the door of a local "gentleman's club" [stripper bar] using my impressive vocal talents to get business inside. (The job title is "barker" and they sure as hell didn't hire me for my looks!) Anyway, one day this old jackass walks up after hearing my spiel, and asks, "How are the girls?" I tell him, of course, that they are smoking hot, and a great way to pass the time if he is so inclined. Then he breaks out with, "Well, what kind of girls do you have today? Because the last time I was here, they were all snake charmers and n----rs."

ME: [pause] "Dude, you need to go. Get out of here. And I mean, NOW."

Sorry, you insult my girls in ANY way, I am going to tell you to take a hike, but THAT? Unfreakinacceptable!

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Now, while I normally come off as a beach bum, when I dress up, I look GOOD. I mean, I clean up nice, and even come close to looking human at times. So this makes some people think I am gay. Oooookay....but no. Not.

And I don't wear pink. NOT because I think it makes me look gay, but because I just don't like the color. I also don't wear green or yellow, for the very same reason.

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The sexist shit cracks me up. I have gone carshopping many times with female friends, at their request, so they don't get patronized by some idiot salesmen. I am actually only there for decoration and distraction, though, as I know only enough to be able to change my tires and oil, whereas many of these female friends of mine can (and HAVE) changed entire engines out, and know far more about cars than I do! Too funny.

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Completely off the sexist thing, but about idiot salesmen....when I was shopping for my previous vehicle many years ago, I took a friend of mine who is a professional mechanic with me. I am the son of a salesman/ad man, so between us we had both kinds of BS covered. Anyway, my friend is kind of quiet, and I am a talker, so I did most of the talking, with him piping in only occasionally. And absolutely nailed one dude.

MY FRIEND: "Has this car ever been in an accident?"
SALESMAN: "Nope. Not once."
MY FRIEND: "Really? Then why has it been repainted?"
SALESMAN: "What? Um...where?"
MY FRIEND: "Here...here....here...and there."
SALESMAN: .....

The kicker is this happened at nighttime, on a dark lot. Hehehehehhe....



FIVE DAYS UNTIL VACATION!

[Kiwi]

By the way I do wear pink(So I guess I do fit the stereotype), you got a problem with that, huh do ya.

so your a metrosexual then....nothing wrong with those... infact Im trying to turn my boyfriend into one right now

very hard when his (very aptly i might add) nickname is caveman.... sigh

[Pagan]

Just love it when someone comes in looking for some 80's group, looks at me, and assumes I'm too young to remember them. Hey, sparky, I graduated from high school in 1987! Yes, I know who Duran Duran is, do you remember Glass Tiger? So ha-freakin'-ha!

[ladodger34]

I guess we can all see why his kid thought it was okay to cuss out a ref. The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, eh?

I wanted to say it, but the filter kicked in and told me not to. I do believe that I told him something like "I may not have kids, but I do know that cussing at an adult referee is wrong".

Just another quick agism/sexism story...

Some young bimbo tried to pass my dad on the shoulder of the freeway and tweaked my parent's car pretty good (somehow she convinced the CHP officer that it was my dad who was at fault, but that's another story). I had driven the car quite a bit during the school year because I dropped my younger brother and/or sister off at school. I would venture to say that I had put the majority of the miles on it prior to the accident.

So we get it back from the collision center and the alignment is off. My mom, dad, and I noticed it. It wasn't just a little off. I follow my mom over to the collision center so she could drop the car off to have it fixed. My mom tells the guy at the joint that the alignment is off. He pulls some patronizing shit on her and points to his head and says "It's probably all in your head".

I had been kind of waiting in the background since it wasn't my car and I was only a young 18 at the time. When he did that, I looked at him and said something to the effect that it must be in my head, too. I told him that seeing that the car had 30,000 miles (just throwing it out there, I don't remember) and I had probably put 20,000 miles on it that something was wrong with it. I told him I knew that car better than anyone and it wasn't pulling to the right before the accident.

Anyhow, I'm damn sure that if it had been my dad who took the car in, the guy wouldn't have made the comment. After dealing with people for years and years, even if I think they are full of crap, I would do the "I'll take a look at it" dance.

I guess that person was more of a sucky worker and not an SC.

[Knightmare]

me:"Sorry it's out of service right now"
C:"oh thats cos a man built it"

I got that the other day while working in the paint department. A youngish (40s and "hoidy toidy") woman came up to me wanting some sample bottles of paint. I told her it would be a bit, because the machine was down (It actually just had to be rebooted).
SC: "I bet a man designed that. If a woman did, it wouldn't break down!" Serious tones, no joking at all, mean look on her face to me while saying said comment. Bitch.
Me: "Who knows? I do know that these ladies (indicating my women co-workers and manager - 3 in all) having been using it all day. It broke, I fixed it.
They have been here for a while, I just got transferred a week ago. Go figure!"
SC:

The female co-workers heard this and chuckled a bit, and I went on like nothing happened. Got her the samples she wanted and sent her on her bitchy way.

[lordlundar]

I posted this a couple hacks ago.

I was doing some sorting in the warehouse when I get paged onto the floor. No biggie, happens all the time. I get out there and this white customer is bitching at my co-worker (asian) because he couldn't get a deal on a game console. (we sell them about five cents over cost, so a deal doesn't happen unless it's a promo) The customer asks me for a deal of twenty dollars off a new one. I tell him I don't get that type of deal if I buy it, what makes you think you will.

"I spend a lot of money here and I always get deals."

"Well if the deals you get are anything like you're proposing here, all you're doing is costing us money."

"You're a racist bastard!"

Now, the bastard I accept, (see my sig ) but the racist one I had to call him out on. After a near occurance of me on the grounnd, laughing my ass off, I say this:

"Let me get this straight, I'm white, you're white, he's asian. I'm agreeing with him. How does this make me racist?"

"Because you won't give me what I want!"

"Uh huh. go look in a dictionary for racist. You might be suprised."

I asked a manager about him and good customer is the last thing that popped into his mind. Leech was more common.

[Thrifty]

I'm another one who deals with the ageism crap. I've been working at my thrift store for about 2 years, and know everything about that store, and how to do everything in the store. They decided to make me AM which involves me running the evening shift. A customer comes in asks for the manager and gets me. Gives me a strange look but doesn't say anything.

The next day he comes back into the store, finds me himself and says "so you're the manager hmm?"

"Yes sir"

"You can't be more than 20 (says this very rudely, like how could you be so young and run a store)"

I just said "yes sir" and when I found he didn't need anything else I walked away.

Gee, do you think maybe I worked my butt off to get that position and just because you haven't done much with your life doesn't mean I can't do anything with mine.

[chainedbarista]

Gee, do you think maybe I worked my butt off to get that position and just because you haven't done much with your life doesn't mean I can't do anything with mine.

i get annoyed with people who assume that a manager automatically means you're older; almost all the managers (with a few exceptions) that i've come across were younger than me.

it's also my guess that they've earned their position; i give them that benefit unless, over time, they do something that proves me wrong. (hasn't happened yet)

[Jester]

Just love it when someone comes in looking for some 80's group, looks at me, and assumes I'm too young to remember them. Hey, sparky, I graduated from high school in 1987! Yes, I know who Duran Duran is, do you remember Glass Tiger? So ha-freakin'-ha!

Heheheh....Class of '88 here, but still generally thought of as younger than that by most.

Had this one older gentleman in my bar a few weeks ago, and this semi-obsucre one song comes on the radio.

OG: "If you can tell me who sang this song, I'll--"
ME: "Mott the Hoople. And you'll what?"
OG: "Nevermind."

I should have let him finish. Did I mention that (A) I used to be a DJ, and (B) I love music, especially classic rock? Just because I wasn't around or even all that old when something came out does not mean I don't know it.


FOUR DAYS UNTIL VACATION!