This kind of stuff makes my blood boil…

I’m talking about people who get judged for their physical appearance, which is something that none of us can control.

Check out this story from Reddit’s “Tales From Retail” page and remember to treat your fellow humans with some dignity, okay?

Get started now!

The way I look got me yelled at today!

“I have been working in retail for about six years.

I started out as helping my family friend who opened a small dance store in my hometown that was full of dance studios but had no store close by.

At 16 I was formally hired though I had spent the past summer helping, worked all through high school and every summer during college, and I worked there up until this past December, when I left after a semester off and knew I would not be coming back from school this summer.

They landed a new gig.

So this summer I went looking for a job in my college town, since I am taking a summer class, and needed to have some form of income for the summer, and got hired at a chain of stores that has really high quality chocolate and is known for their very large servings of said chocolate and their caramel apples covered in all kinds of chocolate, nuts, and stuff.

I have been working at my current job for just two weeks, but today was my first time being insulted and freaked out on by a customer for how I look.

At the dance store we had some uptight moms and bratty kids, but what happened today still has me a bit upset.

There are strict rules at this place.

So at the store, NOTHING touches our hands, this is important to know, literally everything is picked up with wax sheets if it is chocolate/cookies/etc, or is picked up by the stick if it is an apple, put on a wax sheet and either sliced and wrapped up or then wrapped up and put in a bag, when we stock the chocolate case we wear gloves, when we bag stuff we wear gloves, when we bake cookies – you guessed it, gloves.

I also make a point to wash my hands frequently at the sink by the apples after handling them. The only thing that touches our hands is an ice cream cone if you order it, and even then we have napkins around it. Also, girl’s hair has to be back and up, and since mine is so short I put it behind a headband.

Also something to know, is that I have hairy arms, I am descended from a French Cajun mother with dark hair and hairy arms, and a very hairy father of Scottish descent, and so I am blessed with hairy arms, thick eyebrows, and thick hair. It just how it is, and though I do what I can, I don’t wax/shave my arms – too much work and I just don’t care that much.

So I am at the register. We flip between checking people out, or getting things/slicing apples/scooping ice cream just depending on who is free when and what they are doing.

The store is small and pretty crowded, so I called out for whoever is next and ready to order, and a older lady – probably in her 60’s comes up to me, we’ll call her Old Picky Lady or OPL.

She is a bit on the short side, and the way our register is set up, you can’t see anything but the top half of our shoulders and face, and so I put on my cheerful ‘how can I help you?’ voice and the lady orders an apple to be sliced and some ice cream, I ring her up and go to take her card to pay before I go get the apple and she notices my arms.

Uh oh…

OPL goes nuts

OPL: I don’t want you getting my things for me!

Me: I’m sorry, ma’m, I don’t understand.

OPL: Your arms! They’re so HAIRY! There is no way that is sanitary, you shouldn’t be working with food like this!

Now I used to be really sensitive about my arm hair as a shy awkward, pudgy, high schooler, and I still have a bit of that insecurity about how I look inside me, so the minute she starts yelling about my hairy arms, I start to get upset, but I’m also determined to show this lady that she isn’t right.

Me: I’m afraid I don’t agree ma’m, I was hired because of my ability, and I assure you everything is perfectly sanitary and not touched by our hands.

OPL: I DON’T WANT YOU TOUCHING MY STUFF!! GET ME SOMEONE ELSE!

At this point my assistant manager runs over, she doesn’t have a lot of patience and I think she still is on the fence about me since I’m so new, but she isn’t going to let this lady make a scene in our store.

How rude!

She quickly handles the lady’s stuff and sends me to the back until she is gone. I start wiping away tears of frustration and try to calm down, and once the lady leaves I’m allowed back out to help people.

A few customers who were still left gave me some sympathetic looks, and I had to carry on for another four hours of my 9 hour shift.

I have never in my life been so freaked out on about my arms.

At the dance store it was never an issue, since we just handled shoes and clothes, I never thought about my arms when I got hired here – it is my first time working with food, even if it is chocolate, and no one ever commented on my arms during the hiring process, only that my hair has to be put back with a headband.

Nothing that has ever happened to me in my years of retail has upset me quite as much as this.”

Reddit users spoke up.

This person shared their thoughts.

Another individual weighed in.

This Reddit user nailed it.

Another person spoke up.

That was a pretty sad story, to be honest…

If you liked that post, check out this post about a rude customer who got exactly what they wanted in their pizza.