Not Because It’s A Black Diamond

(The company is implementing a new “extended training” program that required all employees to observe a sales transaction they weren’t a part of and critique the coworker who handled it. This particular incident happens on a really slow day, and I am the only one who has gotten my required number of observations for the day. So I [a woman] say I’ll take the next customer and my four coworkers [all men] can observe and get their reports done. An older, black gentleman in a nice suit comes into the store:)

Me: “Good evening, welcome to [Jewelry Store]! How may I help you?

Customer: *doesn’t speak right away, as he is already looking at the display cases, mumbles hello*

Me: “Are you looking for anything special today? A gift maybe?”

Customer: *finally looking at me* “Yes, I need a present for my wife’s birthday tomorrow.”

Me: “Wonderful! We have a great selection—”

Customer: *interrupts, looking past me at my four coworkers standing at the back of the store* “What are they looking at?!”

Me: “I’m sorry?”

Customer: “What, are they all staring because I’m a black man?!”

(Out of my for coworkers, two were white, one was Hispanic, and the fourth was half-Greek.)

Me: “Oh, no, sir! We’re required by our company to observe each other and offer critiques on our ability to work with customers. They’re looking at me, not you.”

Customer: *ignores what I said* “They’re just staring because I’m a black man and I’m being waited on by some white girl. A black man can’t go anywhere without…”

(This leads to a fifteen minute lecture on racism, that apparently I am also participating in just by standing there. He’s not shouting or calling me names, so I just try to smile and nod, and wait for an opening to talk.)

Me: “I’m very sorry you feel that way, sir. They really are watching me to critique my sales methods. You said you wanted something for your wife’s birthday?”

Customer: “Eh… yeah, yeah. You got any square onyx?”

Me: “Unfortunately, no, we don’t have much onyx in stock right now. We can definitely order a piece from our catalogue but it will take about a week to come in.”

Customer: “No, no! I need a square onyx and I need it in a gold ring like this one!”

(He holds up a VERY uniquely shaped ring. It’s obviously pretty old and worn. The gold is paper thin at the bottom of the ring shank.)

Me: “I’m afraid a ring that unique would require an individual casting by our custom jeweler. This kind of process can take up to 30 days, since they want to make sure everything is just right.”

Customer: “Ridiculous! You just won’t make the ring by tomorrow because I’m a black man!”

(He takes his ring and walks out of the store, saying a few other things about our staff being racist.)

Me: “Have a good night, sir!”

Coworker #1: “Hey, [My Name], you handled that really well.”

Coworker #2: “Yeah, we were going to step in if he got out of line with you but you did great.”

Me: “Thanks? I’m still not sure what just happened though.”

Coworker #3: “He’s probably just cranky because he’s buying his wife a birthday present at the last minute.”

(We let the manager know about the customer, just in case he called to complain. But to my knowledge he never did. All of my coworkers gave me 5 stars on my employee critique.)