(no subject)
Its been a while since I posted on here, but a customer so mind-blowingly awful came in today that I have to get this off my chest before I explode.
I work at a large chain movie theater in the western US.
Under cut for length + potentially triggering material (verbal abuse, slurs).
It started when I had just gone on break. I had a box office shift in the morning. Im just getting my lunch rung up at the concessions register when a woman comes storming in my direction from behind the register, where the east hallway and half the theaters in the building (and, it so happens, a pair of restrooms) are. She stomps up to the people behind me in line and immediately starts ranting about the restrooms, saying that shes never coming here again and that we dont have womens restrooms and that we let "men... With penises!" into the bathrooms with women.
All I can do at that point is gape at her. We have NEVER, in my five years working here, had anyone complain about transgender people in the restroom. Never. Because, I assume, most of our clientele just want to pee and leave. Apparently not her.
Slightly dazed, I start back towards the break room, which is across the entire two-sided concession stand and down the west hall. I can still hear her ranting to her friends (and the poor guy on register!) when I reach the west hallway, so I decide to go up to box at the front of the lobby to see if there's anything we can do about this unhinged customer. It's not just her opinions that concerned me - its how loudly she was talking in the quiet lobby, and how she wouldn't stop. My manager tells me that K, my friend tearing tickets at podium, has already advised her of the situation and the customer is being monitored.
Fast forward a few minutes. Im in the break room, eating lunch and having spoken to another coworker on break who had witnessed this vile woman. We agreed that she was awful but knew we were ultimately helpless. Then K comes in with her lunch. And she has the rest of this sad tale.
The customer came in and walked right past K on podium, and when K asked her for her ticket the customer snapped that she needed to use the restroom. Fine, K let it go. Not a minute later, she came back and started ranting about "our" unisex bathrooms.
Except they AREN'T unisex, as K explained. The customer refuseds to believe it, so K left podium for a bit to help the customer. She walked with her all the way to the bathrooms, showed her the two seperate doors, and even informed her that there is a wall seperating the two rooms. Customer hemmed and hawed. She muttered that she didnt want any (anti-lesbian slur) in her bathroom. K was increasingly disturbed, but tried one last time to show the customer it was okay. She entered the womens restroom.
The customer immediately half-screamed at her, "what are you doing?!" Keep in mind that K is female, was AFAB, and has a very soft voice. Her only traditionally masculine trait is her short, chin-length hair. But the customer (apparently) took this as a sign that K is transgender, and all but shouted her from the bathroom, again using anti-gay and lesbian slurs.
At this point K returned to podium and informed the manager of this customer, but didnt tell her about the slurs. I wish she had, because we couldnt stand up for her. I dont care if I would have lost my job over it, no one speaks to another human being that way, and I would have been proud to make that point to that vile woman. K was very upset by the whole incident, as the customers words hit her hard.
I work at a large chain movie theater in the western US.
Under cut for length + potentially triggering material (verbal abuse, slurs).
It started when I had just gone on break. I had a box office shift in the morning. Im just getting my lunch rung up at the concessions register when a woman comes storming in my direction from behind the register, where the east hallway and half the theaters in the building (and, it so happens, a pair of restrooms) are. She stomps up to the people behind me in line and immediately starts ranting about the restrooms, saying that shes never coming here again and that we dont have womens restrooms and that we let "men... With penises!" into the bathrooms with women.
All I can do at that point is gape at her. We have NEVER, in my five years working here, had anyone complain about transgender people in the restroom. Never. Because, I assume, most of our clientele just want to pee and leave. Apparently not her.
Slightly dazed, I start back towards the break room, which is across the entire two-sided concession stand and down the west hall. I can still hear her ranting to her friends (and the poor guy on register!) when I reach the west hallway, so I decide to go up to box at the front of the lobby to see if there's anything we can do about this unhinged customer. It's not just her opinions that concerned me - its how loudly she was talking in the quiet lobby, and how she wouldn't stop. My manager tells me that K, my friend tearing tickets at podium, has already advised her of the situation and the customer is being monitored.
Fast forward a few minutes. Im in the break room, eating lunch and having spoken to another coworker on break who had witnessed this vile woman. We agreed that she was awful but knew we were ultimately helpless. Then K comes in with her lunch. And she has the rest of this sad tale.
The customer came in and walked right past K on podium, and when K asked her for her ticket the customer snapped that she needed to use the restroom. Fine, K let it go. Not a minute later, she came back and started ranting about "our" unisex bathrooms.
Except they AREN'T unisex, as K explained. The customer refuseds to believe it, so K left podium for a bit to help the customer. She walked with her all the way to the bathrooms, showed her the two seperate doors, and even informed her that there is a wall seperating the two rooms. Customer hemmed and hawed. She muttered that she didnt want any (anti-lesbian slur) in her bathroom. K was increasingly disturbed, but tried one last time to show the customer it was okay. She entered the womens restroom.
The customer immediately half-screamed at her, "what are you doing?!" Keep in mind that K is female, was AFAB, and has a very soft voice. Her only traditionally masculine trait is her short, chin-length hair. But the customer (apparently) took this as a sign that K is transgender, and all but shouted her from the bathroom, again using anti-gay and lesbian slurs.
At this point K returned to podium and informed the manager of this customer, but didnt tell her about the slurs. I wish she had, because we couldnt stand up for her. I dont care if I would have lost my job over it, no one speaks to another human being that way, and I would have been proud to make that point to that vile woman. K was very upset by the whole incident, as the customers words hit her hard.