'I’m not against service staff admiring customers. After all, admiration is only human nature.'

NOT too long ago, I went shopping with a friend who happened to be one of
the finalists for Mr Singapore. Jon never had a problem with attracting female attention, probably from all the time he spends in the fitness gym, his chiselled good looks and imposing height. But I never thought his looks would actually cause me to be a victim of discrimination.

Walking into a shop, a tee caught my eye and I couldn’t find it in my size so I took it off the rack and went to find a sales assistant. It turned out to be a rather futile attempt; even after the two of us scoured the shop for a good five minutes, there wasn’t a single sales staff around. Obviously, they’ve not yet attended any sales training course.

Then one emerged from the storeroom, yakking away to the nines on her mobile phone. I walked towards her with a smile, tee still in hand and she rolled her eyes at me before keeping the phone in her pocket.

I was flabbergasted for a while but I remained composed.

I dangled the tee in front of the sales assistant who looked like she wanted to get a facial or a Thai massage instead of work here. She didn’t make any attempt to acknowledge my presence. “Erm…” I started to say. She gave me a peeved look and grabbed the tee I was holding. "$24.50. Nets or cash?"

Indignantly, I forced a smile. "No, I just want to know if you have this in a smaller size."

She barely glanced at the tee. "No.” Her response was immediate, as if she knew all the stock available by heart. By then I was already extremely miffed by her indifference and decided not to press on, for fear of raising my blood pressure.

Jon sauntered over, smouldering in his manly goodness with a shirt in his hand.

The sales assistant suddenly brightened up, like she suddenly found herself in front of a giant Christmas tree. She greeted him immediately, oblivious to the fact that I was with Jon. She clasped her palms together and asked eagerly if he needed assistance. How about a mani-pedi? Or a chassis alignment?

She was all smiles and her newfound cheery disposition was a complete change from her previous sullen self. I couldn’t have felt more ostracised.

From the moment Jon stood appeared, her eyes never left him. I’m not against service staff admiring customers. After all, admiration is only human nature.

But one must learn to draw the line, after all you're being paid to provide assistance, not gawk. You’re being paid to smile and offer help, whenever possible, to your customers, regardless of gender. You're not being paid to pick up guys to populate your little black book. Why don’t you put the numbers of hawker centres there instead?

Customer service is what I take pride in, considering I have had stints in the industry during my tertiary days. And now that I am a writer I am even more acutely aware of customer service (or lack thereof).
Discrimination, all of kinds, must not be tolerated.