Weighted Opinions

(I am an early 20s, able-bodied male, with a fair bit of muscle, and I also happen to be the only employee in the store who fits such a description.)

Me: “Hi, how are you today?”

Customer: “Good, thank you. Can I get a 55-inch [brand] TV, please?”

Me: “Why, certainly.”

(I make a phone call to the back stockroom to request the customer’s TV. While I am processing the sale, the person bringing the rather large & heavy item is one of my young female coworkers.)

Coworker: “Here’s your TV, ma’am! If you’re done shopping today, I will be glad to take this to your car!”

Customer: *to me* “Shame on you, young man. Shame on you!”

Me: “I’m sorry, ma’am, but I don’t quite follow.”

Customer: “How dare you make such a fragile young girl bring out something so big! She could’ve seriously injured herself! You should be ashamed!”

Me: “Believe me, ma’am: I would prefer to have done this job myself, but I have no control over my position. They put me on cash because I happened to be a little better at it, and my coworker here does this all the time.”

Customer: “This is not right! This is not right at all! A tall, bulky man like you should do the heavy lifting! Not this poor skin and bones over here!”

Coworker: “Ma’am, I’m seriously okay with this. When women fought for equal rights long ago, they knew that this was going to happen. And I’m glad it did.”

Customer: “But girls sh—”

Coworker: “Girl power! That’s what it is!”

Customer: “Alright fine, just load the d*** TV into the truck already.”

(My coworker helps the customer with her TV. A few weeks later, the same customer is at my till once again, this time, to buy a couch.)

Customer: “Alright, I know that a couple of weeks ago, that nice, young girl proved more than capable of doing this. But I still feel really bad for her, so can you get somebody else to help me?”

Me: “Not a problem, ma’am, she isn’t even in today.”

(This time, I call my manager to bring out the couch.)

Manager: “Okay, ma’am, where are you parked?”

(The customer takes a good look at my manager. Although my manager is a man, he very much looks like he is approaching his 70s.)

Customer: “This whole store is backwards!” *stomps out*

Manager: “What the h*** was her problem?”

Me: “Equal opportunity employment, apparently.”