Don’t Bring Your Eye Baggage Into Work
Two men walk up to the cosmetics counter where an employee is tidying some displays.
Customer #1: “Hi, could you point us to the under-eye concealers?”
The employee gives them a long, confused look, but she finally waves them towards a shelf.
Employee: “Uh… yeah. Over there.”
They browse for a moment. One of them picks up a tube, turning it over in his hand.
Customer #1: “What do you think? Is this one good? Think it’s waterproof enough?”
Customer #2: “Why do you need it to be waterproof?”
Customer #1: “I just know the second I see my wife walking down the aisle, I’m gonna lose it.”
The employee bursts out laughing.
Employee: “Holy s***, wait, you’re straight?! But you’re wearing makeup! And you’re gonna cry? That’s so gay! Men shouldn’t cry unless somebody died!”
Both men are staring at her in stunned silence. [Customer #2] sets the concealer back down firmly.
Customer #2: “We’re calling a manager.”
A few minutes later, the manager arrives.
Manager: “Okay, what’s going on?”
A rough description of what happened is broken down for the manager. It does not paint the employee in a good light.
Employee: *Defensive.* “This is a woman’s makeup space! A safe space! Men shouldn’t be invading it. And being gay doesn’t give them the right to—”
Customer #2: “—He literally said he’s marrying a woman and you’re calling him gay.”
The manager gives the employee a hard look.
Manager: “Enough. You’re just embarrassing the store and harassing a paying customer.”
The employee tries to argue, but the manager points firmly toward the back room.
Manager: “Go wait there.”
The two men exchange a look, grab the concealer, and head for the checkout. The manager follows them to the checkout, and I see them talking and laughing from a distance. I’m not sure if any kind of discount or apology was applied, but they seemed to leave happy. I hope that the employee’s attitude updates soon!
