'In struts the owner, who is very eager to join our malicious compliance stunt': Bike shop customer refuses to speak to female employees, workers band together to foil his plans

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Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Aug 15, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

Good luck to this guy who's trying to buy a bike. He's clearly not ready to purchase one, as u/BreWanKenobi explained in her malicious compliance story!

Biking is the best: it's a fun, fast, and efficient way to get around. Instead of getting into your car, you can get to your destination while feeling the wind in your hair. Plus, it's much faster than walking, which also just takes longer. It's one of the most universally beloved activities in the world, and basically every country has bikes for sale. These days, it's hard to afford a luxury like a bike, and some cities have started providing rental bikes, which are also crazy popular. 

However, this dude wasn't in the market for a rental: he was ready to own a bicycle. But he was surprisingly impolite to the poor workers at the bike shop, one of whom was just a college student. It seems like a really common thing that happens at hardware stores, auto shops, or other stores that are stereotypically male-dominated: the customers will demand to speak only to a man. They have some rather regressive views of what women can and should do, and luckily for the workers at this store, the owner wasn't having any of that nonsense at her shop. 

Up next, this entitled greeting card store customer claimed that she should get a discount for knowing the CEO… too bad the CEO called her bluff! 

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    Cheezburger Image 10389870336
    via Amin Hasani on Unsplash
  • 02
    Don't want this saleswoman? Let me find another for you. While I was putting myself through university (this was in the mid 2000s), I was working at a bicycle shop. I can honestly say it's the best place I have ever worked; the owners treated their staff very well and so
    via u/BreWanKenobi
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    this shop retained loyal, highly-capable employees that made loads of high- end sales. But what was somewhat unusual (for a male-dominated industry in the mid 2000s) was that there was an equal number of male and female employees. And these women were definitely the most qualified people for the job. One was an engineer for a bike
    via u/BreWanKenobi
  • 04
    company, one was a highly successful triathlete and XC racer, and even one of the owners was a woman. Almost having an unrelated university degree meant that I was BY FAR the least impressive woman working at this place. I just liked bikes. One day, a man (maybe 50- 60ish) came in to the shop. I was first on the scene. He
    via u/BreWanKenobi
  • 05
    said he was looking to buy a bike and so I started going through the usual probing questions to determine what kind of bike he was looking for. Simple questions like: did he ride on the road or trails? Even the most incapable salesperson could use the answers to these questions to point this guy in the right direction. But he seemed HIGHLY resistant to talking
    via u/BreWanKenobi
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    to me or answering my questions. He finally said, "is there someone else I could talk to?" Maybe he just didn't like my sales approach or maybe I seemed too young to be knowledgeable. But since he didn't even give me a chance to prove myself, and seemed to be staring longingly at my busy male colleagues, I had a hunch that he didn't think a
    via u/BreWanKenobi
  • 07
    woman was capable of selling him a bike. So I smiled and said, "of course!" Lucky for me, there weren't any idle male employees in sight. So I grabbed one of the other women that I worked with, quietly letting her know my suspicions about this guy. Before I was even out of earshot, I hear this man agitatedly say, "I need someone ELSE". Suspicions CONFIRMED. SO
    via u/BreWanKenobi
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    we purposely seek out yet another extremely capable female employee to help this man. When he sees her approach, he shouts, "JUST LET ME SPEAK TO YOUR MANAGER!!!!" So in struts the owner, who is very eager to join our malicious compliance stunt, with a beaming smile on HER face. "I'm the owner. What can I do to help you today, sir?" The utter defeat
    via u/BreWanKenobi
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    on his face is something I will never forget. **Edit: Thank you for all of the awards! For those of you asking if he bought a bike: he half- heartedly let the owner help him for a few minutes but was very abrasive and left without purchasing anything. She didn't deem it a loss for the business.
    via u/BreWanKenobi
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    And to everyone suggesting he was looking for a solution for his sore nether regions: I doubt it. Embarrassed people simply aren't as immediately and dismissive as this fella was and we, as a high-end shop, offered professional bike fitting with every sale, including replacement stems and saddles if modifying position wasn't enough (and it could all be
    via u/BreWanKenobi
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    done without discussing ). People are treated as incompetent for no reason A LOT in historically gendered jobs/hobbies (MANY stories were shared in the comments) and so you develop a sixth sense for this kind of thing. That being said, if you're a cyclist and feeling discomfort or numbness, just say so. It has happened to all of us.
    via u/BreWanKenobi
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    And it's ok to want the opinion of someone who has lived similar experiences. But, at minimum, don't be a about it.
    via u/BreWanKenobi
  • 13
    [deleted] I just had this happen yesterday. Older guy comes into my shop and asks my parts guy for a salesman. So he calls my office and tells me there's a "guy looking for a salesman," with a snicker. I walked to the showroom and said "Hi there, what are we looking for today?" and he says, "Do you have
    via u/[deleted]
  • 14
    any salesmen here?" I said "I'm the only salesperson here, and I'm the sales manager, can I help you find something?" He just shook his head and walked out. Whatever. Any potential customer who acts like that right off the bat is undoubtedly going to
    via u/[deleted]
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    cause problems if they buy from us, so it's better that he didn't want to buy from me.
    via u/[deleted]
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    changerchange Some people already know everything before they know anything. This fool cuts his nose off to spite his face. you should have one male employee who basically knows nothing about bicycles. Then when men like this ask for "someone else to talk to," he's the one the get.
    via u/changerchange
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    Every time the guy asks him a question he'll say "I don't know, let me ask". And then he can walk over to a woman employee, get the answer come back to the man and repeat the process endlessly
    via u/changerchange

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