What I Wish To Say To My Customers + Video

By Percy Okoben

“Baby doll.” “Gorgeous.” “Sweet Thing.” “Will you marry me?” “Young lady are there any men here?” These are all things I have been called or asked in the three weeks I have been working in the service industry. While offensive in their own rights, as the customers were addressing them to someone who they thought was a woman, they are even more offensive since that “young lady” was in fact a queer trans boy. 

Hello, guys, gals, and nonbinary pals! My name is Percy Okoben, I use he/him and they/them pronouns, and today we’re talking about something that has been on my mind a lot lately; being trans in the customer service industry. While I have not been working at my current job very long, it has affected me quite a bit. It is a different experience than I have ever had before. I get paid more money than I have made in the past, but in exchange for this, I stand for somewhere between three and eight-and-a-half hours six days a week helping people at the register. Most of my customers are nice enough, with the exceptions being either rude or what I have chosen to deem “folksy.” This video will be split into two halves, each describing how one types affect someone working my job.

Firstly, those who are rude. I can understand this. People are tired of doing who-knows-what all day and just want to make their purchase and get out. Sometimes they don’t have small enough bills and I take a while to make their change. Sometimes I have to hold up money to check that it isn’t counterfeit and they get offended. Sometimes they make a return and I have to wait for one of my managers to input their password. But they should also hold in mind that this is my job. I am new at this and I need time to improve. And I am by no means an expert, but I do know some things about what I do. 

Secondly, those folksy individuals. What is your problem? Do you think it’s a compliment to be objectified? How would you feel if someone you didn’t know treated you as some sort of sexual object? It doesn’t feel good. And also, I am a boy. I may not pass, though I try my darndest, but my identity is my identity, and my identity is valid. Please don’t treat women like you treat me now, and don’t treat me like a woman. Just don’t objectify anyone. And don’t misgender them, either. M’kay? Good. I’m glad we had this chat.

So what can you do, dear viewer? Treat customer service workers like people, because that’s what we are. We should not have to form thick skins in order to not be affected by the insults you throw because they should not have been thrown in the first place. Don’t objectify people, and don’t assume their genders, because you might be wrong.

All right, that about wraps it up. I haven’t decided on a sign-off, so I’ll just say what I say at work. Have a good day.