Discrimination Versus Just Bad Customer Service

I think people give more attention and respect if they think you are in higher class.

I notice I am treated more nicely if I wear maxi skirt, hair is up tidily, and I am wearing makeup, where as I am in cheap pants, shirt, and messy hair w/o makeup.

Being a different race magnifies the problem.

 

Lol I remember once when we went to a mall everyone started giving me smile and spoke well. Reason ,I dressed up well as I was in good mood. My DH was like tats why you need to dress up well when we go out here. But sometimes I’m too lazy !!! All I want is simple dress with no makeup at all! Well while on vacation it is totally different though .
Since I was new to US I dint know this makes a huge difference. All I thought was in US people are cool. They don’t bother if who wears what! I was under assumption that if you wear track pants or flip flops to grocery stores no one bothers . But my DH always insists me to wear shoes and dress up well since lots of racism exist here!

 

We gotta dress in the way that works for us. In my personal case, I am trying to wear more pinks and purples, plus makeup and dainty earrings ..... makes a person look more softer .... boy, I sure noticed the difference!

 

Wow pinks and purples! Both are my fav...

 

LOL, we must be sisters ....

 

I think its a fine line between racial discrimination and bad customer service. I will give you a recent example, for the life of me, I cant figure out what it is; though I do know its discrimination.
Thanks to hubby, we can travel business class in airlines everytime. Over the weekend, we were returning from our vacation and my daughter (6), went and sat in the first row of the business class
(after i told her to as it was out seat). I was busy putting the luggage in the overhead cabinet. the flight attendant told her (rather rudely), "dont sit here, go find momma in the back"...i turned around and shoved the boarding passes in his hand. He blushed and rushed to help me.
Then during meals, he would go, "this has alcohol in it" for wine....I blinked. I dont know what to make out of it.

 

Sounds like racial discrimination.

Even rude doctors behave MORE rude knowing we are Indian.

I can bet if we were white bread in a posh neighbor, doctor would not dare, even in his dreams

 

Customer service and profiling go hand in hand. Especially in India. As soon as a family walks in (textiles, jewellery store) the shop-help notices the people's look, and decides what is the potential for business could be.

My uncle and aunty from America have a nice story. He will bring all his old clothes, wear them during his visit, and throw them away. Some of his clothes are old enough, so even the household-help in the indian home would not touch it. On the other hand, aunty is a very elegant one, she would pay extra for the maid to wash her clothes carefully, or take them to the dry cleaners. In one jewellery store, Aunty goes in as if she owns the place (with two of her local nieces), and the trailing uncle was stopped at the door by the attendant in charge of not letting in vagrants. After about 10 minutes one of the nieces had to come out looking for him, and take him in. Once he went in, he was left standing in the middle of the floor, looking lost, while the women were busy at the counter. And another one of the shop attendants came up to him, (took him for "the driver") and asked him if he wouldn't mind going out and waiting in the car. The uncle didn't realize the insinuation of that suggestion, but answered that it was Ok, he'd just go and sit at a coffee table at one end of the floor, and read the paper.

People get treated for the stereotype the others put them into.