I had to go to a local store to get paperwork to pay for the installation of a purchase. I went to the customer service desk, figuring they would know the process. They sent me back to the plumbing department to get the paperwork.
There were two people at the desk in plumbing. They both said that they couldn’t help me. When I protested that I was following instructions, one of them gave me that look men give to women who are being what they consider unreasonable. I hate that look and told him not to talk down to me. Things spiraled from there and I walked away.
I went to the customer service desk, found the woman who sent me and told her I wanted the paperwork. After multiple explanations I was told to go back to plumbing and a manager would help me. I said no. So they found me a manager at customer service who could figure it out.
It took a while, and in the meantime one of the people from plumbing came to check in and “make sure I was OK”. When it was done, the manager said she would take care of the person in plumbing who was rude to me. When I said times are tough and that wasn’t necessary, I was told there was no excuse for rudeness. They are supposed to make me happy.
Which one of the people in this story is Black? What makes you think so?
I work really hard to not be a part of racist behavior or systems. This one was a failure on my part. I am not sure how to fix it except to speak the truth about it.