u/SwampWitchMorgan

After my shift at PS, I stopped by the B&N across the street. As I passed by a bookseller, I heard a male customer approach her and ask, "I'm looking for 'Finding the Willy'." Looking surprised, she said, "...What was that again?" He repeated himself, saying loudly, "FINDING THE WILLY."

I paused, thinking to myself, "Oh no, is this guy about to.....help her find Willy??" The bookseller isn't someone I know well, but definitely someone I've chatted with several times, since I work across the street. I hung around for a minute to make sure everything was OK, only to realize...

What this fool was actually looking for was "Where's Waldo?" ...

When the former Target exec--now Head of Stores at Paper Source--first visited our Los Angeles store, she came in on a mission: to talk us out of unionizing.

Whether employees reading this post are pro-union or not, I think most of us can agree that it's a best practice to be careful about how we discuss sexual orientation in our stores.

Eager to demo her sales skills, our new Head of Stores dove right in when a customer came in looking for an anniversary gift. The only thing this customer said that indicated his orientation was that the gift was for his husband. Myself and the staff heard the entire interaction, since our store is really just one big room.

After the customer purchased a journal and gift wrap service, he stepped outside the store, while an openly LGBTQ staff member began working on the gift wrap. Less than 2 feet away, our Head of Stores began congratulating herself on the sale, following up with: "He [the customer] told me his husband was a big ole gay boy, so I chose the bright colors and rainbow paper because THEY like that." She said this with an emphasis on the word “they” and a condescending tone.

None of the 3 of us present ever heard this guy say anything remotely close to "big ole gay boy" to describe his husband and frankly, he looked uncomfortable when she pushed the rainbow paper on him. 

Now, I'm sure some people will say I'm being too Californian, but to me, this is not appropriate. The majority of our staff and a significant portion of our customers are openly queer. What would you guys do in this situation?