Saw the ugliest/racist encounter over the weekend in Williamsburg

[bleedingheart]

At the end of our trip, my husband and I went for a stroll in the market area of Williamsburg. We went into a toy shop with the kids to see what they liked (for ideas..)

While in there, this wealthy white old crone was having her purchases tallied and put into a bag. Now she purchased small stuff and the clerk was going to put it into a smaller bag....when the woman said she wanted one of the larger bags with handles. The clerk told her that those bags were for larger items (bigger boxes)...and this old woman lit into the clerk who was an african american woman. She said the nastiest things and insisted on a bag and she wouldn't pay the small charge to get it..she was so immensely rude...but fell short of calling the clerk the n word but her dialogue was along the lines of ..."well your kind are so miserable and this is an unprofessional way to handle a customer...and I spent so much..wah wah wah..."....the clerk did nothing but remain professional and she called the manager...

The manager bought the old crone a bag...and gave it to her...and appeased her!!

I didn't want to make a scene in front of my kids because they are small and I just didn't want to end my trip that way...but after the crone left I told the clerk how rude I thought that woman was and how she had no right to behave the way she did...it was so demeaning and nasty to watch.

Now I regret I didn't make a scene because I would have loved to have said to my kids..."see how that woman is behaving? that is an example of rude and uncivilized behavior."

[Missy Vixen]

1. Okay, I don't have kids

>see how that woman is behaving? that is an example of rude and uncivilized behavior."<

I'm sorry you didn't speak up in front of her. I realize it's best to avoid public confrontation (we have no idea who's packing these days, do we?) but everytime someone like her gets away with it, it emboldens them to do it again. It's also good for the kids -- they'll remember it.

It was nice of you to talk to the clerk and tell her how sorry you were for the old woman's behavior.

Julie

[bleedingheart]

2. My husband and I were on opposite sides of the store as this happened

and both of us were kind of in shock that someone could be that rude and nasty in a toy store of all places with children walking about....luckily my kids didn't hear the woman ..they were in a toy trance.

I didn't want to make a scene and I also think I was in shock...but based on that woman's behavior I think she would have called the cops and made it worse...to be honest...she was dressed very well and had that look of "wealthy old bitter hag" about her...

[seemunkee]

3. The store manager was wrong

She should have stood up for the employee, refunded the ladies money and told her to leave.
It's been a long time since I worked in retail but I've had managers do that in several instances.

[bleedingheart]

6. that is what I wished she would have done

[LynneSin]

4. I've seen that stuff too - annoys the hell out of me

I was at the Post Office on a Saturday; my local post office is located in a neighborhood that is predominently minorities and the people who work in the store are also minorities. But they know me and everyone is always nice to me. But the post office also covers a few upscale neighborhoods in Wilmington

Now on a Saturday at ANY post office, I expect that the lines will be longer and it will take some time to get my stuff done. So I'm usually smart enough to bring a book or magazine to read while I wait in line. But the guy in front of me, an older clean-cut white man, started to get rude with the people working the post office. Normally I would mind my own business, but when I heard "Your people are always trying to do the minimum work possible", well I wasn't going to take that. I tapped the guy on the shoulders and reminded him that this was Saturday and it's the one day everyone is off from work and can make it to the post office to do their business. I didn't yell at him, but I did say it loud enough that others heard him and realized just how unreasonable he was being.

The funny thing was, the post office brought out a 5th person, looked to be a stock person or something, who was taking anyone who was just there to pick-up a package. So even though I was behind in the line of that ignorant racist man, I ended up getting out of there way before him because all I had was a package. BTW, a female postworker nearby thanked me for what I said. She's a really nice gal, speaks two languages fluently because they get alot of spanish speaking customers in the post office

[youthere]

5. I always think of the perfect way to handle people like that..

AFTER the situation. Sigh.

[kwassa]

7. This is the bane of retail

and the problem is that many retail stores insist that "the customer is always right". Many customers deliberately throw fits to get their way.

I've been on the receiving end of much worse, actually, in my time in retail.

going back more than 20 years, I was in a claims office at an insurance company, where a man unhappy with the result of his claim used the n-word on the black female clerk who delivered the news. The entire staff, mostly white and male, all stood up as one and started walking towards the guy. He beat a hasty retreat out the front door. The clerk said "Have a nice day!".