My Latino Heritage

I just have to share this little circumstance that happened last week. We had a woman call us about a problem she had with a clock she had bought from us a little while ago. Apparently its night light wasn't as bright as she needed it. She talked to my co-worker and friend Ryan. Apparently she was very pushy and she really frustrated Ryan. Finally he told her that we would replace the battery for her if she brought it in. When he got off the phone he told me about the conversation because he would be leaving soon and I would probably have to deal with the woman. I told him that we couldn't just open up a pack of batteries for her, but if she wanted to buy them, she was more than welcome.

Well, the next day she did come in. She was a very very talkative person, making it seem like all sorts of drama and difficulty for her. She got to the part about being promised a battery. That's when I interrupted and said that "Yes, Ryan told me what was happening. And I told him that he was wrong." At this point her jaw clicked shut. I laughed inside.

In the end I replaced the clock with a new one according to our replacement policy. She was upset about it because she only wanted the free battery. (Nevermind I was giving her a free clock!)

Well, the next day I came in and my manager John asked me about the woman. I told her what had happened. And everything was cool. He told me that he had called and talked to him earlier. She had said, "Well, I've worked with uppity Latinos before. I've lived in Florida and had to deal with them all the time." It took me a minute. Latino? She meant me!

I've never been racially discriminated against. And especially for the wrong race! My boss was kind of upset about it. He doesn't tolerate any kind of -ism at our work, not even from customers. If I were the sue happy type, I could make a big deal out of this. Even though she totally got my ethnicity wrong. I'm Canadian and English on one side and Danish on the other. I'm probably whiter than she is.