COSTCO AND GENDER DISCRIMINATION

[NatassiaDreamsXXX]

So this morning i went to Costco here in San Diego to renew our membership (for my grandmother and I) and i was arguing with a girlfriend of mine on the phone therefor maybe my natural voice came out a little but thats besides the point. So after standing in line for approximately 10 minutes without being paid attention another customer comes up out of nowhere and proceeds to the counter and starts being helped. Myself after standing there for 10 mins without a greeting or anything frankly said "Hello im also waiting for help" as the Employee rudely replied "I was helping him already" Which was not to my knowledge, so I replied "Ok well can someone help me, because there are like 5 of you standing around doing nothing" After about another 2 minutes the OVERWEIGHT employee turned to her co-worker and said "Can you help this GENTLEMAN, i mean lady out?" To my utter disgust speaking with a girlfriend of mine on the phone i said to her "Can you believe this lady as im standing here with 34d breast and perfect demeanor and perception as a female just called me a gentleman??" She overheard and quickly shot over a apology that you could tell that she didn't mean. So in my fury i said to my girlfriend on the phone " I guess shes just jealous that i have a 24" waist and hers is 42" which OBVIOUSLY she heard and commented something to her boss and then the boss starting rambling something which I paid no attention to.Then this is where it gets good... Next thing i know the Overweight worker comes from helping her customer and gets in my face saying "OH why dont you say whatever it was you were saying to my face?" As I replied " First of all I wasnt EVEN talking to you, and if you do want me to say it in your face i will YOU FAT BITCH!" Then it started going downhill from there and many words were exchanged in our fury. Somethings along the line from her "Atleast im Natural" in which i replied (lifting up my shirt to show a six pack, that ive been working hard at for the past three months in Krav Maga and kickboxing classes sometime back to back)"This is Natural too, its called a GYM AND YOU SHOULD LEARN ABOUT ONE". So the manager of member services saw that this issue was getting out of hand as the lady wanted to attack me ( i wish she wouldve, i wouldve loved to try out some of my moves that i have been learning on her LOL) and called a manager to escort ME out of the store as the manager very rudly comes up to me and says "Did you insult my employee?" In which i replied "Yes, after she insulted me, and I know 2 wrongs dont make a right but in other words if you cant stand the heat then STAY OUT OF THE KITCHEN! In which he replies that i can NEVER go back there again, and I defiantly assured him that i wll be back in which he replied if I do then he will call the police and arrest me for trespassing! THE NERVE!!!!! I Left the store SHAKING with RAGE and went home and called Corporate office and made a complaint, as i was DISRESPECTED as a person and I wanted action against it. After explaining my story to Corporate, she said she would have the manager contact me which he did BUT WITH AN ATTITUDE saying "You can come back here as long as you don't disrespect my employees in which i replied " First of all I am a PAYING CUSTOMER, my hard earned money i spend to on membership, and shopping within your store is PART of what pays your salary, so if your employees dont DISRESPECT ME, i will not disrespect them!" In turn he replies "Well we have witnesses, that you disrepected my employee" in which i QUICKLY REPLIED " I Have a witness as well! (My girlfriend was on the phone the whole time for those exchange of words) He replies " Well she is very upset"in which i replied "SO AM I AND I DEMAND AN APOLOGY FROM HER!" He replies "Well im apologizing on her behalf and you can come back here and shop as long as you dont disrespect any of my employees again" and hung up. :x I am furious over this event and feel totally discriminated against but dont know what else to do. Im sure this has happened to others before but how do we go about resolving situations like this and I would like further action because i feel this issue wasn't handled the way it should have been. Any info would be greatly appreciated as those who know me KNOW that i am not confrontational at all and always VERY respectable in dealing with other people. Just had to let that off my chest and if anyone has any suggestions or comments im all ears!! We need to stand up for our rights!!!

[GroobySteven]

To be fair, it's not really Costco having gender discrimination, it's one employee being an asshole and you having a fight with her ? There is no evidence of them discriminating against you as a transgender other than one individual employee being a bitch, which you pointed out!

[Legend]

The gender insults she throw at you were totally wrong but don't you think you could have been a little patience in the first place.

[HillaryTS]

yeah people are assholes. manager handled the situation pretty poorly it seems.

[BeardedOne]

Ah, the joys of working with the public. :?

Conversely, the joys of working with the overworked, underpaid, and as likely undereducated. :roll:

You'd be hard-pressed to prove discrimination in that, as corporate covered their ass by having the manager call to "apologize" and 'invite' you back to shop and the latter following that direction.

Sadly, or perhaps thankfully, you can't sue people for being stoopid, lazy, and rude (Though many try and some succeed). If you could, the nation's courts would be on a 24 hour cycle and have revolving doors.

Being a bit of a hermit, I tend to steer clear of the Big Box Marts of the world (Reference: www.jibjab.com ). I recently went to Wally Mart with TW and I swear to gawd that my skin began to itch just being in the same building with many of their customers. Sure, I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of stuff (Read: "Crap") that is there and the "Everyday low prices", but just entering the place made my flesh crawl.

I do occasionally hit Q-Mart...er...I mean K-Mart ( ;) ), but it's rare and I typically handle it as a surgical strike: In - Out, nobody gets hurt. But I am your average guy that goes to the store, gets what he wants, pays for it, and goes to the next store to buy beer and bacon bits. Girls/gurls....Just shop, fer chrissakes. :shrug

How important is it to your life or your grandmother's that you shop at Costco? If I was so mistreated by the employees of an establishment I'd just blow them off permanently. With gas prices fast approaching five bux a gallon, might you not find comparative values closer to home in more customer-oriented venues?

I mean, really...It's Costco ferfuxsake. :banghead

[Legend]

yeah people are assholes. manager handled the situation pretty poorly it seems.

Sounds like a scene was created so he escorted her out should he have let them continue to argue which could have resulted in a fist fight.

[thx1138]

whatever happened to "the customer is always right"?

[TrueBeauty TS]

Girl, I am so sorry that happened to you!

I've had it done to me and been witness when it happened to friends of mine. It's a HORRIBLE feeling. You feel humiliated, belittled, embarrassed and frustrated.

Things could have and SHOULD have been handled better (mostly on THEIR part, imo) but, at least you stood up for yourself and maybe.... just maybe.... those people will think twice before smarting off to people.

Once again, sorry it happened to you.

:cry:


.

[Willie Escalade]

When is this shit gonna end? I can't believe they called you a "gentleman". Maybe they need their eyes examined...as well as the little bit of brains they might (or obviously might not) have.

Assholes. :evil:

[GroobySteven]

whatever happened to "the customer is always right"?

When the customer is wrong ?
Not related to this case ... but we try really hard with customer service and to make sure members are happy but every so often, we get such an asshole who we can never please. As a customer can choose which businesses they wish to patronage, I can choose not to serve a customer.

[Willie Escalade]

When the customer is wrong ?
Not related to this case ... but we try really hard with customer service and to make sure members are happy but every so often, we get such an asshole who we can never please. As a customer can choose which businesses they wish to patronage, I can choose not to serve a customer.
Believe me, in the line of work I'm in, I know where you're coming from.

Even still, that was total disrespect towards Natassia; she was definitely not wrong.

[tsntx]

That gender insults she throw at you were totally wrong but don't you think you could have been a little patience in the first place.

she waited 10 minutes. how much more patient did she need to be... the employee didnt explain to her as to why she was helping a customer that appeared to have come out of nowhere... employee dropped the ball... i would call corporate again and inform them that when said mngr. called you back, he was rude and disrespectful only further making the issue worse, i would inform them that you will take your business elsewhere and that you will make sure that in this day and age of internet that BAD PR spreads lightening fast and that you can assure them that ppl everywhere will hear of your disgusting treatment in their store and then again on the phone....

you should at least get a giftcard or something out of it ;)

[tsntx]

whatever happened to "the customer is always right"?

When the customer is wrong ?
Not related to this case ... but we try really hard with customer service and to make sure members are happy but every so often, we get such an asshole who we can never please. As a customer can choose which businesses they wish to patronage, I can choose not to serve a customer.

that sounds like an eros ad disclaimer lol

[BrendaQG]

I was at a Wal-Mart on Halloween day one day and that happened to me. I kept my cool and just said "What?" When they called me "sir". They then apologized and said "Well it's Halloween and sometimes we get men dressed as women in here." I said "Right." ("Men" dressed as women who are a perfect size 8. Are mistaken for their little sister by people who have known them for life. Right. The tell may have been my height. 5'7.5" is kind of tall for a woman around these parts.) They helped me with a question about my Wal-Mart Card. Then I filled out a complaint card on them. Lo and behold two weeks latter and ever since I have not seen that person working at that Wal-Mart. Odds are they have had complaints about them being assholes to other people in general.

A little known fact is that in a dispute with the public most managers will side with an employee just because. No matter who or what the public person is. Just human nature they know the employee and they don't know you. There fore all acting up will do is weaken your case. It may feel good but it doesn't do much. (Suppose someone cut out all that preceded your showing your abs and such then put it on youtube. How would you really feel about it?)

I'll just say that it would not surprise me if that person got fired shortly after you were escorted out. Or if they get fired for their attitude. People who would act like that on the job are usually not so specific as to just target one kind of person.

[Legend]

That gender insults she throw at you were totally wrong but don't you think you could have been a little patience in the first place.

she waited 10 minutes. how much more patient did she need to be... the employee didnt explain to her as to why she was helping a customer that appeared to have come out of nowhere... employee dropped the ball... i would call corporate again and inform them that when said mngr. called you back, he was rude and disrespectful only further making the issue worse, i would inform them that you will take your business elsewhere and that you will make sure that in this day and age of internet that BAD PR spreads lightening fast and that you can assure them that ppl everywhere will hear of your disgusting treatment in their store and then again on the phone....

you should at least get a giftcard or something out of it ;)

Usually places like that are pretty busy and employees there are misreable because they have a crappy job and they try to put that misrey on you,i think its just best to not let those people fuck your day up,i just think when going into places like that it just pays to have alot of patiences.

[NatassiaDreamsXXX]

Brenda i totally agree with you, the manger TOTALLY sided with the employee after she blatantly insulted me over and over and I GET KICKED OUT of the Store. Go figure. I have worked customer service before (ie restaraunts, clubs etc) and you dont ignore someone who is standing there for more than 5 mins as that is considered BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE and without the customer there is no $$ to pay the wages due. Tsntx i totally agree that i should call back and speak with corporate again as many of my family and peers felt the right to take it in their own hands and deal with the situation. Willie and True Beauty thank you soo much for the kind words to try to make me feel better about the situation but i cant FATHOM how people are sooo Ignorant and RUDE. I mean if you dont like your job then QUIT, dont take it out on other people that are not worthy of your wrath. Beardedone, Yes i can take my business elsewhere, but they way the economy is going now at Costco buying in bulk you save money in the long run which we all need nowadays to fill our gas tanks LOL. I have nothing wrong with Costco as a company BUT when you hire people that are CARELESS about customer service what does that say about the Franchise?

[bartholomeus]

I will limit myself to say i work in a similar place. Not to be unfair to you because that was outright wrong from the employee, but you lost your nerve. These place(s) work with a membership fee the member is the most precious thing unless the member passes a line, which you did. You should have just asked for the manager and complained and then called corporate and everything would have been on your side. They take these things very seriously, and she would have gotten a coaching paper.

I think the reason that she might have not taken care of you is because being on the phone when you will talk to someone in person is very rude. I myself have had people do that and not ever talk to you while you do their transaction, or take their time paying, etc etc because they are on the phone. I have been an asshole to those costumers at the end of the day because you get tired of people acting like your just a thing and not a human being behind the register/counter etc.

You have to understand that in these places you get probably 10 times or more people than your average supermarket. Some warehouses make 300-500K in one day when its the weekend thats 300K sat n sunday. A supermarket will make about 100K in a WEEK! And they make about 80-100k in a regular day.

To this you have to add that you get many presumptuous costumers who think that you have to do EVERYTHING for them because you pay 50$ a year. I can't really tell from the situation but if i was in membership service and there is someone on the phone and seems too into their conversation i would wait for them to come up to me. I've had that happen and when the costumer gets angry i say "I was waiting for you".

You have the right to be angry but there is always a procedure to everything. If a cop harrasses you the last thing you do is punch him because YOU go to jail. Its like playing a game, you need to get other people involved.

If other workers/costumers didn't hear her comment towards you but they heard your comments then of course they will take her side.

To the manager thing i would call corporate again and tell them that he called and was rude (if he was). I believe these complains go to the top people aka regional manager, state mangers etc etc. and also stay in record i think. So if this happens again you know how to go about it now, and i bet they will do something about it.

I'm sorry this happened to you.

[Solitary Brother]

Its kind of amazing how many people on this board take the side of the employee in these situations.
Homophobia and Transphobia are almost always tolerated by these companies.
This kind of leads back again into the mcdonalds situation.
What are trans people to do when they are disrespected/assaulted by people?
It also goes back to the self-hatred thing that is evident in these communities which is why seeming allies become enemies and take the side of their enemies.

[Trogdor]

The cow-queen was giving ya an attitude cause probably 3 or 4 of you would fit in one of the legs of her pants. Hiyo! ~rimshot~ :mrgreen:

Having worked retail, I can tell you that 99% of retail managers are just low life, spooge sucking, mother fuckers that are always asses. If they ever do act polite...it's just that, an act.

Meijer stores ( Think of an even more ghetto/trailer park version of Wal-Mart. ) are infamous for that in my neck of the woods.

[BrendaQG]

Its kind of amazing how many people on this board take the side of the employee in these situations.
Homophobia and Transphobia are almost always tolerated by these companies.
This kind of leads back again into the mcdonalds situation.
What are trans people to do when they are disrespected/assaulted by people?
It also goes back to the self-hatred thing that is evident in these communities which is why seeming allies become enemies and take the side of their enemies.

Your not really getting what people are saying. In my reply where I ask.... Suppose someone taped what you did, cut out the first part, and posted it on youtube. My point is that while I can relate to the emotion to give them what for, and have at times. It's better to, if anything file a lawsuit. React in a cool calm reasonable manner. You will get more respect that way.

[tsntx]

That gender insults she throw at you were totally wrong but don't you think you could have been a little patience in the first place.

she waited 10 minutes. how much more patient did she need to be... the employee didnt explain to her as to why she was helping a customer that appeared to have come out of nowhere... employee dropped the ball... i would call corporate again and inform them that when said mngr. called you back, he was rude and disrespectful only further making the issue worse, i would inform them that you will take your business elsewhere and that you will make sure that in this day and age of internet that BAD PR spreads lightening fast and that you can assure them that ppl everywhere will hear of your disgusting treatment in their store and then again on the phone....

you should at least get a giftcard or something out of it ;)

Usually places like that are pretty busy and employees there are misreable because they have a crappy job and they try to put that misrey on you,i think its just best to not let those people fuck your day up,i just think when going into places like that it just pays to have alot of patiences.

so bc some bitch hates her life and /or job and IM the one that should be patient? bitch if you dont like ur job .... QUIT!! dont treat me like shit when ure having a bad day,week,month,life!
GET OUT OF THE CUSTOMER SERVICE BUSINESS IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY!

[Minutemouse9]

If you compalin again to corporate about the manager being rude, make sure that you record the phone call if he calls you back. If he is rude again you can send the recording to corporate to prove your point about his rudeness and he might possibly lose his job.

[bartholomeus]

If you compalin again to corporate about the manager being rude, make sure that you record the phone call if he calls you back. If he is rude again you can send the recording to corporate to prove your point about his rudeness and he might possibly lose his job.

That doesn't work... you can't record anyone without them being aware of it, its illegal.

[justatransgirl]

First of all Natassia - do I know you? I live in San Diego too. Are you talking about the Costco by Lowes in Mission Valley?

While you handled it poorly the employee was totally wrong in using discriminatory speech toward you. This is probably against Costco policy.

I would start by contacting their upper management with a formal complaint. They will probably reprimand the manager and employee. He should never have "trespassed" you. That's getting into lawsuit territory.

It's not right to allow this sort of thing to pass unchallenged, especially here where such incidents are on the rise. While I have never personally been "outed" at a business I have had other girls come to me with complaints about restaurants in Old Town - and I don't mean some old non-passable vampire tranny, I mean hot visiting Eros girls getting outed rudely by bigoted employees.

You don't want some fat bigot causing you to not be able to go someplace. So for all of us, please pursue it.

Hugs,
TS Jamie :-)

[eze]

That was totally out of line Nat, I can't believe people would sink that low at work. Amazing how people would do this at work. I'm sorry you even had to put up with someone like that.

[Thatiger23]

Natassia if im ever in San Diego we should go to costco and have some fun messing with the costomer service reps lol

[chanel_girly]

OH my gosh!!!!!!
Something very similar like this happened to me at costco as well!!!

I hate costco!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :evil:

[tubgirl]

Its kind of amazing how many people on this board take the side of the employee in these situations.
Homophobia and Transphobia are almost always tolerated by these companies.
This kind of leads back again into the mcdonalds situation.
What are trans people to do when they are disrespected/assaulted by people?
It also goes back to the self-hatred thing that is evident in these communities which is why seeming allies become enemies and take the side of their enemies.

it's also kind of amazing how many on this board will take up for the transexual without looking at any other alternatives to their "story".

like a poster said before, they (the employee) may have disregarded her because she was yapping on her phone... :roll:

[josue]

but the way u carried on wasn't right at all either. u should have been the better person and let it go instead of acting arrogant and conceited.

[BBaggins06]

:popcorn

[NYTSJulie]

You should wait in the parking-lot on night as she is getting off work and see what she is driving then go back the next night and slash her tires, or you can just hit the fat cow in the head, lol.

Kisses,
Julie

[Minutemouse9]

You should wait in the parking-lot on night as she is getting off work and see what she is driving then go back the next night and slash her tires, or you can just hit the fat cow in the head, lol.

Kisses,
Julie

Glad I never pissed you off. :wink:

[Janie2261]

Now that you've felt and expressed your anger about how you were treated, it's time to sit back and calculate an effective strategy.

You were treated rudely in a way that mocked and disrespected your gender identity. This is unacceptable. Management needs to be held accountable.

I suggest you contact Equality California (www.eqca.org) and file a complaint regarding this case of discrimination against a transgendered person. As a statewide organization that represents a huge constituency, they have the leverage to get Costco's attention.

While you are just a single person that might ignore, there are probably tens of thousands of LGBT members of Costco in California. That is leverage.

You need more than an apology. You need a firm commitment that Costco will train its workers to avoid discriminatory behavior.

[TS DANIELLE FOXXX]

Send her a box of Crispy KFC with a card saying " Thank you for your honest apology. They said at my gym that the stair master has a 500lbs weight limit or I would have gotten you a membership instead. See you soon "

[NYTSJulie]

You should wait in the parking-lot on night as she is getting off work and see what she is driving then go back the next night and slash her tires, or you can just hit the fat cow in the head, lol.

Kisses,
Julie

Glad I never pissed you off. :wink:

LOL

I say meet her out side, bust a 40 oz. on the curb and say "you wanna do this bitch" lol.

[Thatiger23]

You should wait in the parking-lot on night as she is getting off work and see what she is driving then go back the next night and slash her tires, or you can just hit the fat cow in the head, lol.

Kisses,
Julie

Glad I never pissed you off. :wink:

LOL

I say meet her out side, bust a 40 oz. on the curb and say "you wanna do this bitch" lol.

lol that would be funny.......just make sure its ol english high gravity.....that would just add to it lol

[hwbs]

hate the big box....

[jimbobw2]

retail is crap cheap labor at its finest.

[ARMANIXXX]

So this morning i went to Costco here in San Diego to renew our membership (for my grandmother and I) and i was arguing with a girlfriend of mine on the phone therefor maybe my natural voice came out a little but thats besides the point. So after standing in line for approximately 10 minutes without being paid attention another customer comes up out of nowhere and proceeds to the counter and starts being helped. Myself after standing there for 10 mins without a greeting or anything frankly said "Hello im also waiting for help" as the Employee rudely replied "I was helping him already" Which was not to my knowledge, so I replied "Ok well can someone help me, because there are like 5 of you standing around doing nothing" After about another 2 minutes the OVERWEIGHT employee turned to her co-worker and said "Can you help this GENTLEMAN, i mean lady out?" To my utter disgust speaking with a girlfriend of mine on the phone i said to her "Can you believe this lady as im standing here with 34d breast and perfect demeanor and perception as a female just called me a gentleman??" She overheard and quickly shot over a apology that you could tell that she didn't mean. So in my fury i said to my girlfriend on the phone " I guess shes just jealous that i have a 24" waist and hers is 42" which OBVIOUSLY she heard and commented something to her boss and then the boss starting rambling something which I paid no attention to.Then this is where it gets good... Next thing i know the Overweight worker comes from helping her customer and gets in my face saying "OH why dont you say whatever it was you were saying to my face?" As I replied " First of all I wasnt EVEN talking to you, and if you do want me to say it in your face i will YOU FAT BITCH!" Then it started going downhill from there and many words were exchanged in our fury. Somethings along the line from her "Atleast im Natural" in which i replied (lifting up my shirt to show a six pack, that ive been working hard at for the past three months in Krav Maga and kickboxing classes sometime back to back)"This is Natural too, its called a GYM AND YOU SHOULD LEARN ABOUT ONE". So the manager of member services saw that this issue was getting out of hand as the lady wanted to attack me ( i wish she wouldve, i wouldve loved to try out some of my moves that i have been learning on her LOL) and called a manager to escort ME out of the store as the manager very rudly comes up to me and says "Did you insult my employee?" In which i replied "Yes, after she insulted me, and I know 2 wrongs dont make a right but in other words if you cant stand the heat then STAY OUT OF THE KITCHEN! In which he replies that i can NEVER go back there again, and I defiantly assured him that i wll be back in which he replied if I do then he will call the police and arrest me for trespassing! THE NERVE!!!!! I Left the store SHAKING with RAGE and went home and called Corporate office and made a complaint, as i was DISRESPECTED as a person and I wanted action against it. After explaining my story to Corporate, she said she would have the manager contact me which he did BUT WITH AN ATTITUDE saying "You can come back here as long as you don't disrespect my employees in which i replied " First of all I am a PAYING CUSTOMER, my hard earned money i spend to on membership, and shopping within your store is PART of what pays your salary, so if your employees dont DISRESPECT ME, i will not disrespect them!" In turn he replies "Well we have witnesses, that you disrepected my employee" in which i QUICKLY REPLIED " I Have a witness as well! (My girlfriend was on the phone the whole time for those exchange of words) He replies " Well she is very upset"in which i replied "SO AM I AND I DEMAND AN APOLOGY FROM HER!" He replies "Well im apologizing on her behalf and you can come back here and shop as long as you dont disrespect any of my employees again" and hung up. :x I am furious over this event and feel totally discriminated against but dont know what else to do. Im sure this has happened to others before but how do we go about resolving situations like this and I would like further action because i feel this issue wasn't handled the way it should have been. Any info would be greatly appreciated as those who know me KNOW that i am not confrontational at all and always VERY respectable in dealing with other people. Just had to let that off my chest and if anyone has any suggestions or comments im all ears!! We need to stand up for our rights!!!




What you did wrong was engage the employee in kind with insults. You should have immediately went to the manager/supervisor, ask for the name of the GENERAL store manager contacted him/her, then call corporate.

If you would have then threatened them with litigation, they would have cut you a check.

[marissaazts]

Send her a box of Crispy KFC with a card saying " Thank you for your honest apology. They said at my gym that the stair master has a 500lbs weight limit or I would have gotten you a membership instead. See you soon "

now that would be the perfect response

[BeardedOne]

like a poster said before, they (the employee) may have disregarded her because she was yapping on her phone...

While cell phone manners are practically nonexistent (And I'm not saying that Natassia was rude, but the employee may have seen it thusly), there are ways for a customer service person to diffuse this sort of thing without attacking or battling with the customer.

A simple "Oh! Excuse me. I saw that you were on the phone and didn't want to interrupt your conversation. How may I help you?" would have turned this entire misadventure in another direction.

I can't begin to count the number of times I wanted to poke a customer in the eye (Three Stooges style) when I was in service related jobs. And, truth be told, I have had occasion where I became the venom-spewing customer from hell myself. To their credit, the poor souls that encountered that part of me (Invariably not caused by them but by the action/inactions/policies of their employers), were generally patient, apologetic for my problems with their company, and at least tried to assist me in what ways they could.

It has been said that "The customer may not always be right, but they do get an inordinate amount of slack". Having been on both sides of the battle lines, I wholeheartedly believe in this.

Natassia, should you want to take this matter further, if not for the greater good than for your own personal satisfaction that right has been done, then I recommend a 'strongly worded letter' rather than a call. In a phone call it is far too easy for your emotions to click in and ramp up. An indignant, but polite complaint is far more likely to get positive attention than the ravings of another one of '=those=' customers.

With a letter (Not an e-mail, but one of those classy, old-fashioned things with a...whatayacallem?...STAMP on the outside - Bonus points if you use one of the Breast Cancer semipostals to show that you give some thought to your mail and that this isn't one of a brazillian other rants that get posted each day) you have the opportunity to tell your tale clearly as well as a shot at some rewrites before it goes out, to tone down any eye-poking that you may feel in the process. Phone calls get put on HOLD or get lost in the ARU system too easily, hardcopy letters of complaint (Especially if cc:ed to the local Better Business Bureau and/or one of the groups/agencies mentioned above) are hard to ignore or pass off.

To an earlier mention of recorded phone conversations: If I recall correctly, the Federal law stated that as long as one party of the conversation was aware of the recording process it was legal. Hmm...Would that 'one party' be the one doing the recording? This may have changed since the passage of the Paranoia Act...Oops, my bad: The Patriot Act. Note also that most customer service phone centers have that little bit about "This call may be recorded for quality control purposes", so it is just as likely that the call is already recorded somewhere and can come back to bite you in the ass if you utter words/phrases like lameasscocksuckingmotherfucker (As I have done on more than one occasion). Hence my advice about a hardcopy letter rather than a call. You can even have the letter reviewed by legal counsel to be sure you are stating your case without shedding your rights.

Good luck, play fair, and really, find someplace better to shop.

[MrsKellyPierce]

That gender insults she throw at you were totally wrong but don't you think you could have been a little patience in the first place.

she waited 10 minutes. how much more patient did she need to be... the employee didnt explain to her as to why she was helping a customer that appeared to have come out of nowhere... employee dropped the ball... i would call corporate again and inform them that when said mngr. called you back, he was rude and disrespectful only further making the issue worse, i would inform them that you will take your business elsewhere and that you will make sure that in this day and age of internet that BAD PR spreads lightening fast and that you can assure them that ppl everywhere will hear of your disgusting treatment in their store and then again on the phone....

you should at least get a giftcard or something out of it ;)

Usually places like that are pretty busy and employees there are misreable because they have a crappy job and they try to put that misrey on you,i think its just best to not let those people fuck your day up,i just think when going into places like that it just pays to have alot of patiences. She said there were 5 people standing behind the counter. Surely one of them could of helped.

[MrsKellyPierce]

Its kind of amazing how many people on this board take the side of the employee in these situations.
Homophobia and Transphobia are almost always tolerated by these companies.
This kind of leads back again into the mcdonalds situation.
What are trans people to do when they are disrespected/assaulted by people?
It also goes back to the self-hatred thing that is evident in these communities which is why seeming allies become enemies and take the side of their enemies.

it's also kind of amazing how many on this board will take up for the transexual without looking at any other alternatives to their "story".

like a poster said before, they (the employee) may have disregarded her because she was yapping on her phone... :roll: okay fine disreguarded, but no where she should of said can you help this gentleman I mean lady. Thats just uncalled for, she is obviously a woman, by what she was wearing no matter how she looked or sounded. It's called TACT and CUSTOMER SERVICE.

[Solitary Brother]

Its kind of amazing how many people on this board take the side of the employee in these situations.
Homophobia and Transphobia are almost always tolerated by these companies.
This kind of leads back again into the mcdonalds situation.
What are trans people to do when they are disrespected/assaulted by people?
It also goes back to the self-hatred thing that is evident in these communities which is why seeming allies become enemies and take the side of their enemies.

Your not really getting what people are saying. In my reply where I ask.... Suppose someone taped what you did, cut out the first part, and posted it on youtube. My point is that while I can relate to the emotion to give them what for, and have at times. It's better to, if anything file a lawsuit. React in a cool calm reasonable manner. You will get more respect that way.


No you wont.

[NYTSJulie]

As a side note, GGs have a huge issue with trannys especially the GGs who are not that attractive.

I bet if a guy or an attractive woman were at the counter instead, things would of been totally different (even if they still spooked).

[BrendaQG]

Its kind of amazing how many people on this board take the side of the employee in these situations.
Homophobia and Transphobia are almost always tolerated by these companies.
This kind of leads back again into the mcdonalds situation.
What are trans people to do when they are disrespected/assaulted by people?
It also goes back to the self-hatred thing that is evident in these communities which is why seeming allies become enemies and take the side of their enemies.

Your not really getting what people are saying. In my reply where I ask.... Suppose someone taped what you did, cut out the first part, and posted it on youtube. My point is that while I can relate to the emotion to give them what for, and have at times. It's better to, if anything file a lawsuit. React in a cool calm reasonable manner. You will get more respect that way.


No you wont.

What the fuck ever dude. Next thing you know you'll tell me you know the situations better than peopel who were actually there.

[Legend]

That gender insults she throw at you were totally wrong but don't you think you could have been a little patience in the first place.

she waited 10 minutes. how much more patient did she need to be... the employee didnt explain to her as to why she was helping a customer that appeared to have come out of nowhere... employee dropped the ball... i would call corporate again and inform them that when said mngr. called you back, he was rude and disrespectful only further making the issue worse, i would inform them that you will take your business elsewhere and that you will make sure that in this day and age of internet that BAD PR spreads lightening fast and that you can assure them that ppl everywhere will hear of your disgusting treatment in their store and then again on the phone....

you should at least get a giftcard or something out of it ;)

Usually places like that are pretty busy and employees there are misreable because they have a crappy job and they try to put that misrey on you,i think its just best to not let those people fuck your day up,i just think when going into places like that it just pays to have alot of patiences.

so bc some bitch hates her life and /or job and IM the one that should be patient? bitch if you dont like ur job .... QUIT!! dont treat me like shit when ure having a bad day,week,month,life!
GET OUT OF THE CUSTOMER SERVICE BUSINESS IF YOU DONT HAVE ANY!

You have a point jen,I've never really understood why people just do not quit their job if they are unhappy with it rather then take it out on paying customers.

[justatransgirl]

As a side note, GGs have a huge issue with trannys especially the GGs who are not that attractive.

I bet if a guy or an attractive woman were at the counter instead, things would of been totally different (even if they still spooked).

Not to take things off track, but I've noticed that too. GG escorts for the most part are very supportive of trans girls, but dyke sorts seem to have some kind of penis envy issue. It like they are afraid we will tred on their territory.

Sheesh,
TS Jamie :-)

PS: Good points BO.

[Shemale_luver_str8]

yeah people are assholes. manager handled the situation pretty poorly it seems.

Sounds like a scene was created so he escorted her out should he have let them continue to argue which could have resulted in a fist fight.

Having been in many arguments and fist fights with employees of stores, I know for a fact, from being an asst. manager. That the managers first action should have been to relieve the employee of their job, and tell them to walk away and go to the back. At that point the manager would then talk to the customer and figure out what happened and the best way to resolve it. Once the matter is resolved on the floor then either help the customer or ask another employee to help them. Then the manager should have disciplined the employee for not having the professional courtesy needed in a workplace. The first mistake the employee actually made was walking up and saying something. That already is reson for dismissal and a possible fine. So either the employee should have been fired, or suspened until otherwise told.

One thing you can always do is call corporate back and explain to them the kind of demeanor the Manager had, or you can go back in the store and ask to talk to the general manager, or the supervisor and if the supervisor is the manager who had the attitude, then ask to talk to his supervisor. I hope this helps.

[NatassiaDreamsXXX]

Guys soo much for your suggestions, some of the people accuse me of being conceited which is something im not! I train sometimes 5 times out of the week between Muay Thai and Krav Maga and my dedication gives me CONFIDENCE but dosent make me Conceited. I admit that maybe i did take the situation out of hand by insulting the person behind the counter but she really struck a nerve as i couldnt believe how RUDELY i was treated and disregarded as a customer. Did they think i was standing there for my health, even though i was on the phone it doesnt take much effort to atleast acknowledge me and let me know the guy that cut in front of me in the line was there before and someone would be with me shortly, Those two comments couldve prevented the situation all together. But, with that said it is not m fault that someone is having a bad day or hate their job! If they dont like their job then DONT WORK THERE!!! I feel like the manger didnt handle the situation well AT ALL, and giving me attitude the PAYING CUSTOMER was not the right thing to do! I just was upset after this incident and wanted to make the post to let people know how IGNORANT and RUDE people are working at stores that people like us pay our HARD EARNED MONEY on!
TsJamie: Im not sure if I know you, even though we are in the same town, It was the Costco at Gateway off of Market street
Kelly, Danielle ,Tsntx, Breanda and all the other girls THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Its a shame that is this day and age people act the way they do but what we ALL need to do is KEEP OUR HEAD UP and be proud of WHO and WHAT we are and dont LET ANYONE try to bring us DOWN to try to make themselves feel better :)

[joyboy123]

I'm in San Diego and usually its the Mission Valley location that has a bad reputation

You should write a review on www.yelp.com about the way you were treated at the Market St. Location and let people know that the service sucks there. I'm going to avoid it, I hate dealing with miserable employees.

A lot of people are starting to read these reviews.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/costco-wholesale-san-diego-4#hrid:0iwfRwsS9mIBMw5VSmNGFQ/query:costco

[Tika]

Speaking from the customer service side of things, when people are talking on their cell phones while waiting for service, I find it kind of rude. It's like "I'm really busy, just give me what I want."

There's usually an expectation of some minimal amount of personal interaction when you're serving someone. It makes things less... I dunno, servile and a little more human. Like I'm not some sort of drone, I'm a real person doing a real job.

Where I work, we really value nice, friendly, happy customers. They're a genuine treat. People who get angry, people who lose it - not so much a treat. Being calm and reasonable works a LOT better in "situations".

It's unfortunate you were treated poorly. However, I'd try and step outside the box and wonder why the person who treated you badly did so, just for the sake of curiousity. People generally don't just "go off". Something has to provoke them.

[NadiaUSA]

Try to stay calm when you are offended. Ask yourself, " what is to my greatest benift here?".

First, recognize the allure of instant gratification by exchanging barbs.

Secondly, Try to think quickly about all your options. Some of your most profitable options will depend on or be enhanced by holding your tounge.

I would have liked you to calmly asked the employee to elaborate on why he called you a gentleman. He may have dug himself deeper. At the very least, he would have acknowleged he did it by saying, "Oh sorry I thought ..."

At that point you would have a better case to ask about store policy and training.

If your goal is not to be letigious but simply be effective in correcting someone you could just say " That was not very nice.". I know it sounds understated but you will be supprised how well that can work.

Being understated it powerful because you use the principal of fear of the unknown. If you tell people what you are going to do they can calculate thier odds or downside risk. They may infact realize that cost of the sin is too low to give you what you want. Do not let people see all your cards.

In this case you were wrong to insult fat people. Besides, you had him dead to rights on being a mean jerk and a poorly trained employee.

However, as a shopper, don't be to hard on yourself for being on the phone or saying the wrong thing. Costco shares a responsibility to handle such shoppers. They knew before they opened the doors that they would need to handle various buyers without bashing gays or transgenders.

Legaly, I wish you had fished for more ammo to use against them besides one flippant comment from a low level employee.

[peggygee]

Try to stay calm when you are offended. Ask yourself, " what is to my greatest benift here?".

First, recognize the allure of instant gratification by exchanging barbs.

Secondly, Try to think quickly about all your options. Some of your most profitable options will depend on or be enhanced by holding your tounge.

I would have liked you to calmly asked the employee to elaborate on why he called you a gentleman. He may have dug himself deeper. At the very least, he would have acknowleged he did it by saying, "Oh sorry I thought ..."

At that point you would have a better case to ask about store policy and training.

If your goal is not to be letigious but simply be effective in correcting someone you could just say " That was not very nice.". I know it sounds understated but you will be supprised how well that can work.

Being understated it powerful because you use the principal of fear of the unknown. If you tell people what you are going to do they can calculate thier odds or downside risk. They may infact realize that cost of the sin is too low to give you what you want. Do not let people see all your cards.

In this case you were wrong to insult fat people. Besides, you had him dead to rights on being a mean jerk and a poorly trained employee.

However, as a shopper, don't be to hard on yourself for being on the phone or saying the wrong thing. Costco shares a responsibility to handle such shoppers. They knew before they opened the doors that they would need to handle various buyers without bashing gays or transgenders.

Legaly, I wish you had fished for more ammo to use against them besides one flippant comment from a low level employee.

I'm inclined to agree with the gist of what Nadia has said.

Though I can fully understand how our natural response is to want to
respond to a 'dis with with a greater dis'. That since they have acted
shady, we will attempt to outshade them.

By responding we acknowledge and leave no doubt as to our true gender
identities, when in actualitity the person may not have been sure.

I also don't like to come off as a sterotypical loud Black woman or
transwoman. Which is not to say that is how you came across.

For me, I don't like to get angry, cause when I do I can really lose
control, and regret something I have said or done.

Rather than get angry, I get even.

I am going to have a well thought and articulated response to
management and corporate.

I will 'read' them, but in a way that I never utter a profanity.

They may not ever grow to like me, but they will respect me and
in many instances they may even fear me, as I have no problem being
litigious and or bringing in the media.

So yeah, try not to peep your hole card, walk away, chill, come back
with a thought out response. If you're going to get even with someone,
it's better to wait until you're not angry, or "hot". That way, whatever you
plan to do will be more calculated and likely to succeed.

Revenge is a dish best served cold. :twisted:

[Steffani]

The whole point here is that if she wasn't a tranny the employees, and more importantly, the manager would have never acted that way towards her and the employee would have been reprimanded at the least. The girl was a fat bitch that was jelious and had to say what she did to try and one up one on you and the way you responded I thought was great.

Because people like that think they have some god given right to have an issue and the only way they will learn anything at all is when we counter directly and let them see that we are human and pretty proud that we are not as stupid as they are. If you wouldn't of done anything and cowtowed under then in her mind she'd a thought, "yeah that ones ashamed" But you basically told her that she was a loser and even though corporate might not do much, on the 0ther hand they might and the store manager will also figure out that as a Costco manager, he is probably a loser too and not that damned important. lol

The situation is bigotry at its best so bravo to you for giving some resistance to their ignorance because if you didn't they'd think they could walk all over you!

[Seamale]

I want to get my two cents in here. I've waited in those customer service lines for a half hour only to have some impatient rich housewife jump in front of me when the relief sales person showed up. She was a fuckin cunt. No big deal. I got my turn a coupla minutes later. The salespig you encountered is a fuckin cunt. No big deal. I read a post where someone recommended you physically attack her. What the fuck kinda stupid advice is that? Major jail time for that one einstein. There is a thread where Miriam was attacked and nearly killed, a fuckin shame. Hope the fucker that did that gets what he deserves. My point is that if you don't want to get beat on you can't go beatin on other people, right...
I like costco cause they are so much better than the stupid fucks that work and shop at walmart. Write up your experience and send it to the guys in Seattle area Corp HQ. Give them a chance and they will make it right. Play it cool though it's the only way otherwise they will write you off as the psycho.
BTW i'd love to bump into you while shopping on sunday, I think.

[xShalicex]

Sure that's the case, but the way she handled it isn't going to get anything done about it. Had she acted calmly with a bit more poise then say gabbing on her cell phone she would have been able to get the employee fired or had a legal case against costco which could have ended rather nicely. In such situation it's rather important to get the employees name, number, store number, and management action. Instead you threw any chance at that away for your pride in having an argument with some idiot. GG (I think you lost by the way). Getting the employee fired would have definitely hurt them a lot more, by the way. /facepalm,
http://bamapachyderm.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/picard-no-facepalm.jpg