I tried very hard to think of a good post title, but at the end I failed. It’s just really hard to think of a title of what I’m about to say. Thankfully this is my own journal, so I really don’t have to worry about what I”m about to write too much…. I hope. lol
So anyway, I went to the mall today with mom. We went to the Coach store, where I got this coupon from my cell’s coupon app. The coupon itself just said print it out, and nothing else. However, when I handed it to the store clerk, she said it wasn’t redeemable. When I request that perhaps I could fax it in, she went to ask her manager. So far, so good.
Then the manager came out, and while she maintained a diplomatic tone of voice, the first thing she did was to look at my mom who was sitting down. No, we weren’t wearing brand-name clothes that cost more than a year’s worth of income, and I wasn’t wearing my Coach bag or a million-dollar shoes. The look we received were condenscending, as if we were there to ask for spare change where in fact they were the ones that were offering the freebies. The lady firmly told me, again with “the look”, that they don’t “give out the gift just to anyone” and I need to come back with another coupon that has my name, home addrses, e-mail and phone number on for them to process.
Of course we left, and I went online to see what exactly the gift was…. It was a set of 6 pencils with Coach’s newest line Poppy design. WTF. *roll eyes*
This brought the memory of something I might have posted back in my LJ all those years ago. I was a high schooler and working part-time as a buyer for a manufacturer in Hong Kong. So one time I was asked to purchase some 7 of All Man Kind jeans. Without “dressing up”, I went to Nordstrom (of the same mall of this Coach store) with a friend (who didn’t dress up either). When we walked in, some of the clerks were looking at us using side glances, the kind where you know they’re assessing if you’re rich and since you’re not they have the right to look down on you kind. The girl who was at the jeans department was particularly condenscending, and when I asked her to come over she had a very visible look of reluctance and disdain. Well, this is where the fun starts.
I asked her to show me all of the 7 of All Man Kind jeans they have, and right away her attitude changed in a light speed. She straightened herself up and her tone became very polite, and she escorted my friend and I to the table that displayed the latest jeans of the brand. Personally, I have NO IDEA what difference there is in design for jeans, so I asked her if on the table was all their styles. When she affirmed it I just asked her, very casually, to pack two pairs of each styles. The girl’s eyes bulged and asked me again, before she took the jeans and ran – yes, ran – to the register for me. The friend who went with me was amazed. “I never saw any Nordstrom people run,” he commented. Heh, my thoughts exactly.
I guess I just don’t understand why people would judge others just by the way they dress or look, or have a preset idea when they look at someone. I mean, sure, wtf, everyone does that and it’s been like that for centuries. But still, it never ceases to amaze me. Moreoever, especially in the climate now, when the economy is so horrible and our dollar means basically nothing in the world, and unemployment rate is in an unprecendented height, I can’t understand the concept behind of giving bad customer service when right now any customers should be cherished because, hell, the spending power is down…. No customer = no spending = no profit = no job. That should be in the back of every working people’s mind, regardless of your profession, shouldn’t it?