It is Pride month, and I have saved up to have my hair colored in all the colors of the Pride flag. I am so happy with it, and because it cost quite a bit, I am wearing it loud and proud at the bookstore where I work.

Customer: “Your hair looks awful!”

Me: “Well, that’s your opinion. I personally love it.”

Customer: “It’s just not natural!”

Me: “Neither are your eyelashes.”

Customer: “That… that’s different! Mine are subtle!”

Me: “Ma’am, if you blinked too hard, you could cause a hurricane with those things.”

Customer: “You think you can talk to customers that way?”

Me: “You stopped being a customer when you called my hair awful. You were never going to make that sale.”

Customer: “Where’s the manager?! I’m going to tell him how the girl with the [gay slur] hair is talking to his customers.”

Our manager is a woman, actually, and the bookstore is small, so she has stepped over because of the raised voice of the customer.

Manager: “Before you say anything, ma’am, I have heard every word of this conversation.”

Customer: “And what are you going to do about it?”

Manager: “All I can do is ask: why are you still here?”

Retail workers! If you can work for small and independently-owned stores that don’t have a Corporate to cave into, do it!

Customer #1: “What’s a synonym for a book that helps you find alternative words?”

Customer #2: “You mean a thesaurus?”

Customer #1: “Ooh! Good one, thank you.” 

Customer #2: “Are you serious?!”

Many years ago, I (female) was hired at a bookstore as my first job. On my first day, I was introduced to another woman [Coworker], who was hired at roughly the same time and was also on her first day. [Coworker]’s wrinkled face and gray hair said she was old enough to be my grandmother, but her posture, energy, and ability to lift a giant box of books said that she neither needed nor wanted to retire; I found myself thinking that I wanted to be like [Coworker] when I was in my old age.

By the end of the day, I had discovered that, no, I don’t want to be ANYTHING like [Coworker].

That first day alone, [Coworker] found no less than eight different things to insult about me. At this point, the only one I clearly remember was my multicolour dyed hair “making me look like a freak”. She proceeded to continue to insult me every time I was in earshot for the whole first work week. This being my first job, I vastly underestimated my rights as a worker, and started to think that maybe this was just what the working world is like.

Then, [Coworker] and I got called in to meet with Human Resources. [HR Guy] observed that other workers had mentioned [Coworker]’s harassment toward me. [Coworker] argued that, for instance, I “shouldn’t dye my hair like a freak if I don’t want to be treated like a freak” and other such comments along those lines.

She finished up by claiming:

Coworker: “I don’t have to be polite to people who act like trash.”

Once she’d finished, [HR Guy] opened up a file that had been sitting on his desk throughout this whole exchange.

HR Guy: “[Coworker], you’re single, right?”

Coworker: “Huh?”

HR Guy: “It says in your file that you’re not married or engaged, and you have no children. You’re living by yourself, you have no disability benefits, and you left the ’emergency contact’ field blank; a note here says that you don’t have any living relatives, so you have no one to contact?”

I recognized all of these fields as information we were asked to provide when we were hired, though I was confused about why he was bringing all this up with me in the room.

Coworker: “What does that have to do with anything?”

HR Guy: “I’m just curious why you seem so intent on making enemies when there’s no one to miss you.”

Chills ran down MY spine when he said that. I couldn’t even imagine how [Coworker] must have been feeling.

[HR Guy] proceeded to lecture [Coworker] about her needless hostility, and he informed her that [Bookstore] would not tolerate it before making it clear that if she continued in her behaviour, she would “never set foot in [Bookstore] again”, even as a customer.

[Coworker] stepped out of the room, and I took a moment to try and find my voice.

Me: “Did… you just threaten to…?”

HR Guy: “All I did was make some observations and then promise to ban her from the store if she kept behaving the way she does. How she chose to interpret those statements is up to her.”

The next day, I found that [Coworker] had quit. My other coworkers made a point that I should never let workplace hostility escalate to that point again, and I soon grew to love working at [Bookstore].

I work in a bookstore in a relatively small town. I am aware that there are only two bookstores in said town, on opposite ends of the high street. This is in the early 2000s before everyone used the Internet for everything.

I take a call.

Caller: “Hi. Do you have any travel books about Sicily?”

Me: *Checks* “Yes, we have three.”

Caller: “So, I was initially calling to reserve them, but I wanted to come clean with you first. I work at [Other Bookstore In Town].”

Me: “Okay?”

Caller: “We just had this absolute joy of a customer come in asking for travel books about Sicily, and all we had was a series of essays written by a travel writer, and not like an actual tour guide. She called us ‘pathetic’ and used a few hateful slurs before informing us she was going over to your store to check out their collection.”

Me: “I’m sorry you went through that.”

Caller: “Ah, it is what it is. You work there, so you get it, too, I’m sure. I initially had the idea to just call you guys up before she gets there and reserve all the books, but then I realized I’d be throwing you under the bus, and from one retail worker to another, I thought that might not be cool.”

Me: “I appreciate that.”

Caller: “But then I started to read some of this travel writer’s stuff and see the pictures of Sicily, and… well… now I really want to go, too!”

Me: *Laughing* “I understand. Well… from one retail worker to another… I’ll put all three books away for you, and if you’d like to come and check them within three working days, they’ll be here for you. If not, I’ll just put them back on the shelf.”

Caller: “And the customer?”

Me: “She messes with one of us, she messes with all of us, right? I got you covered.”

We end the call, and after lunchtime, a customer comes up to me at the counter. From her body language and general disdain for everyone and everything around her, I can tell this is who I have been expecting.

Customer: “I need all your travel guides to Sicily.”

Me: “I’m afraid those have recently been reserved, ma’am. I can order some in for you, though! It’ll take about five working days—”

Customer: “That’s pathetic! What is wrong with all of you r****ds! I can’t get anything done because of all your incompetence!”

Me: “I have given you the options available to you, but now I am asking you to leave. I hope, on behalf of the people of Sicily, that you don’t find the book that you’re looking for. Good day, madam.”

The customer looked like she was about to snarl, but she turned and left without too much fuss. I have a brother with learning difficulties who has been subject to abuse from the particular slur she used, so I felt no guilt whatsoever in denying her service or holding the books back.

The caller actually did come in the next day to check out the books, and she actually purchased one! I hope, on behalf of the people of Sicily, that they get to go on their trip!

Customer: “Where can I find books by Koontz?”

Me: “Can you spell that for me?”

Customer: *Haughtily* “I thought people who work in bookstores should know how to spell.”

Me: “Well, I just need to know if you’re asking for Stephanie Coontz, Stephen Coonts, Dean Koontz, or probably some other people whose surname has that pronunciation that I don’t know.”

Customer: “Oh… uh… Dean Koontz.” 

Me: *Smiling* “K-O-O-N-T-Z. Follow me!”