When it comes to communication in the world of customer service, sometimes even professionals can be less than adequate. While it is true that everyone in customer service should be respected, it is no excuse to ever degrade a customer. In short, there should be mutual respect between the two parties. But as communication between employee and customer varies depending on the profession, it is a sad truth that some workers don’t value certain customers as they should. Unfortunately, I can say that such a negative incident happened to me this past week.

Over the weekend, my car engine died so logically, I took it to the auto shop. To my dismay, I immediately noticed the gendered environment I was in and the person serving me made very sure of that. I realized how much he used teasing language with me even when I presented myself seriously and professionally. Straight to the point the entire experience, my only goal was to get my car taken care of at the lowest possible cost. Sadly, I had to jump through several hoops not only to get good discounts, but to be paid the proper respect I deserved.

To begin, the mechanic made me declare that the malfunction of the engine was my fault since the water was so low. Not only that, he repeated to try and make me feel at fault even after it was discovered that the water pump in my car had a hole in it. Even when I was on the phone with my father he corrected my speech and made sure that I told my dad that I knew this incident was completely my doing. I politely told the mechanic that my father understood the circumstances as my car is older and obviously had a specific problem that was beyond my control. Apart from his language, his behavior toward me was vastly different than how he interacted with male customers. Even when the male customer appeared to be at fault for whatever was wrong with his car, the mechanic would joke around with him and use bonding phrases like, “it’s all good, it happens.”

While I will not go into all of the details (because let’s face it, I can write a book about this one weekend), I will say that the icing on the cake was when the mechanic said, “oS what have we learned from this experience, Ashley?” Excuse me sir? Not only did my car have an abundance of problems due to age and ware, but I just paid a lot of money so that I would not be without a car in an area where I have no family. It is sad to admit but the gendered language and behavior in primarily masculine workplaces makes women, especially young women, an easy target. No matter age, gender, or race, everyone should be respected at all times. I should not have to feel disrespected just because I am a woman surrounded by men in a professional environment. I am a customer paying for a service, that is all. Next time, I will be sure to bring a male friend with me just so I can be taken seriously and treated like a valued customer. This is a sad truth, but unfortunately a reality for women in these circumstances.