Originally Posted by
patersoj
I (middle aged woman) get this semi regularly, and I wouldn't mind if I was politely asked for my boarding pass or whatever, but I'm not.
Some of the phrases I have heard have been downright rude
E.g. "Oi, you need to go over there", "I've already told you that the Economy queue is over there" etc.
The lack of an apology says more about them than it does about me, but oh the temptation to suggest that several of these people should just Foxtrot Oscar has been almost overwhelming at times.
I am in the same boat and have recounted my most memorable experience way upthread. I’m not ‘young looking’. I don’t own an Hawaiian shirt. I dress smartly and conservatively, to my detriment as I don’t dress down to travel and sometimes that has made me a bit uncomfortable. I’m well groomed and won’t be seen without makeup (that’s my own insecurity for a different time and place) so I’m at a loss as to why I experience this treatment.
Not for one second suggesting *anyone* deserves this. A lot of well-meaning contributors are trying to mitigate it with various suggestions as to why it might happen. Or saying ‘that’s not my experience’ which, as a pro-tip is a little bit reductive and cast doubts on the legitimacy of our experiences. It does happen. It happens to quite a few people (evidenced by the length of this thread) and there is absolutely no need for it to happen. Stereotyping, blaming confirmation bias, “off-days”, attempts at filtering out the hoi polloi or just jaded staff members - its all preventable. People should do their job well, treat all they encounter as individual and equal and leave prejudice and bad attitude at home. If they can’t, they’re in the wrong job.