There
is an unwritten discriminatory double standard in the workplace when it comes
to African-Americans and customer service positions. This discriminatory and
arbitrary set of unwritten rules and policies are the reason why many Black men
can’t retain employment in the workplace when they finally find work.
From
my observations and personal experience I’ve noticed that African-American
women can get away with some of the most unprofessional behavior and still keep
their jobs.
I
have personally witnessed Black women mistreating customers with unprofessional
behavior like rolling eyes, speaking to them in a harsh belligerent tone and even
extreme behavior like cursing them out. Some will even spend time on the sales
floor getting into heated arguments with customers and a few will even get
violent on the sales floor.
I
have even witnessed Black women getting belligerent and hostile with supervisors.
Some have even argued with store managers district supervisors. A few have been
downright insubordinate.
All
without customers complaining. And without any disciplinary action taken
against them by management. In fact, some of these Black women were promoted
for their unprofessional and abusive behavior.
Meanwhile
mild-mannered African-American men like myself who merely try to do their jobs
in a professional manner are often reported by customers as insubordinate,
unprofessional and hostile.
Black
men like myself who were pleasant, friendly and even kind were told by
customers they’d report them to the manager for having a hostile tone just
trying to answer the most basic of questions in a professional manner.
I
have watched as customers went to management to complain to senior employees
about the way a Black man speaks to them over the phone. Even with the most
pleasant phone manner and the smoothest tone of voice, the Black man is often
considered hostile and threatening by most customers when they hear their
voices.
I
have watched as customers and even co-workers will complain to management about
a Black Man’s work being too slow. However, a Black woman, White, Asian, Arab
or Hispanic man can work at whatever pace they feel like without the threat of
disciplinary action. Some can take an entire day to do the most simple of
rudimentary tasks as stocking a single shelf or filing papers without the
threat of a write-up or termination.
But
a Black man has to work as fast as The Flash when he’s doing the same tasks.
He’s paid by the hour but clocked at the miles per hour he works.
And
thanks to these complaints in service jobs, many a Black man is threatened with
being written up, suspended or even terminated.
All
for trying to do his job to the best of his ability.
This
discriminatory double standard has kept many a Black man from keeping
employment even when he manages to finally find it. It has prevented most
brothers from finding economic and financial independence. It is why the
unemployment rate is so high in the Black community.
Entry
level sales and customer service positions are often the gateway into moving up
in some corporate organizations. But thanks to this unwritten institutionally
racist and sexist set of double standards, most Black men are prevented from
retaining employment even when they manage to find it.
Under
these draconian policies I have watched as Black men were punished harshly for
minor infractions or implied infractions. Decent hardworking Black men like
myself who try to stay professional and follow the rules of the workplace are
often rewarded with the Black mark of a write up, suspension termination on
their work record for just being late once or simply misunderstanding a company
policy.
Meanwhile
while Black women literally got away with flagrant violations of company
policies and basic social decorum. In all the service jobs I had no one has
ever sought out a manager to report a Black woman for being belligerent with
them. No one has ever complained to a corporate office about rude customer
service when a Black woman cursed them out or argued with them. No one has ever
taken time out of their day to report a Black woman for her hostile and harsh
tone whenever they got on the phone with them. Heck, no one even complained when
a Black woman I was working for was late to work every day for close to an
entire year.
But
they will make that extra effort to report the minutest perceived violation of
company policy when they encounter a Black man in a service position. I’ve
witnessed this personally. And I’ve had this done to me in service jobs I was
employed in.
Worse,
these same customers will talk about how they are so afraid to approach a Black
man like myself when he is at the front desk. The Black man can be mild
mannered and pleasant and they’ll be afraid to ask for what they want.
However,
a Black woman can roll her eyes, snap her neck and suck her teeth at them and
they’ll be eager to walk up to that same counter. In fact they’ll say they got
great service from said Black woman for displaying such a hostile attitude
toward them.
Confront
many a customer or a manager about their feelings regarding being served by a
Black man and they’ll deny they have any prejudices about us. They’ll say
they’re not racist. They’ll say they treat everyone fairly. That this
double-standard doesn’t exist.
But
their actions speak louder than their words.
In
most of the service jobs I’ve had, I’ve seen people hesitate before coming up
to the counter to approach me. I’ve seen some come and go out when they saw me
working there. The same people came back later when a Black woman or other
minority was working the desk. I’ve even seen some clutch their purses and hold
their backpacks. I’ve seen men take the time to put their bags between their
legs when they had laptops.
All
because a Black Man was on duty at the front desk or working on the sales floor.
But
those same people were downright kind, pleasant and friendly to Black women who
were rude, surly and hostile towards them. No threats of reporting them to
management. No threat of a write up or termination. No threat of having their
lives disrupted or their means of making a living taken away from them.
The
unwritten racist and sexist policies in the service sector prevent many good
hardworking and professional Black men like myself from taking the first steps
in the job market. Thanks to the double standard imposed by these unwritten rules
many good brothers are denied an opportunity to build their work record, learn
valuable skills and start their careers in entry-level positions.
Managers
and customers must take efforts to be more sensitive towards Black men when
they are in the workplace. We’re just trying to do our jobs. When we are judged
by an unfair set of standards it impedes our productivity in the workplace and
keeps us from moving forward in our lives. Sometimes it takes years for us to
find a job. And the draconian disciplinary policies enforced with these double
standards can destroy all that hard work in three to six months forcingmany a
Black man to pick up the pieces of his life all over again.
Shawn, I don't know what to say about this one. It's sad, for certain, brutally unfair and something needs to be done. But what? Every customer deserves the best any employee has to offer. The very least supervisors can do is remind employees that customers pay their salaries.
ReplyDeleteThis is worth a roundtable discussion. I'd like to hear some of the black women in this field discuss this and other black men tell what their experiences have been.
Something can be done about anything once we stop, look, listen and discuss. Then set the wheels in motion to do something about this situation that doesn't have to exist.
I have encountered rude Black women in customer service positions and spoken to their managers. I'd do that with any sort of rude customer service worker.
ReplyDeleteI've not had that experience with any Black men... of course that goes with the caveat of mostly having encountered Black men from Africa in those positions, and not too many Black American men.
So I agree and disagree.
Being able to observe proper phone courtesy is very important.
ReplyDelete