The Feminist Journal

This is a call I experienced while in Overstock.com’s Customer Care. This man had ordered a 2 piece bar stool set. When he received it about 3 months ago, it was defective. The legs didn’t have the pre-drilled holes for him to put it together. He had called us immediately to ask for a replacement. Now normally, we would wait until we he sent back the original item, but because he was so upset on the original call, we sent him the replacement order right away. We told him that he had to return the defective item back, with the label we provided, within 30 days. He did not return it.

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After I had said that I could try to find a man for him I placed him on hold. When I stood up I realized that everyone around me was just as dumbfounded as I was. We all couldn’t believe that this customer thought a Man was a better choice. I walked over to my supervisor’s desk and explained what had happened on the call so far. He agreed that what I offered was the only thing we could do and that he would take the call. I went back to my desk to transfer the call. Dreading getting back on the phone. I get back on the line and let him know that I have found a Man for him to speak to and transferred the call to my supervisor.

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I sat at my desk, trying to get a hold of my emotions. This man, this one man, made me feel like I wasn’t worth anything. I am in a starting position at a call center for an online retailer and I can’t even do the simplest task. I felt discouraged. I felt that other customers wouldn't allow me to do my job either, simply because I was a woman. And somehow a man could do my job better.

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Then I started to think about why I felt this way. I knew I was good at my job. Most people wouldn’t have been able to figure out what to do in that situation. But I was able to find out what happened and give him a solid answer, without having to ask for help. It didn’t matter what gender I was born, I was still just as intelligent as he thought a man would be. I realized right then that no matter what a man said to me about me being lesser, I knew that I wasn’t.

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I spoke to my supervisor after he got off the call. He explained to me that the man was still upset about his option, but somehow, because it came from a man he felt that it was more real. However, he didn’t let the man go without letting him know that I was a very capable agent and just because I was a female, did not mean that I didn’t know what I was talking about. This made me feel unworthy or broken. Like there was something wrong with me so I was being cast aside. It's a terrible feeling, and it is hard to shake.

My supervisor was another type of man. The type to stand by women and know that they are not lesser. That he wouldn’t allow any man to treat a woman the way this man treated me. Which is something all women need in their workplace. "Over 70% reported exposure to gender harassment at work." Women being harassed simply because they are a women, is not a small issue. It happens everywhere. Sometimes people don't realize they are doing it because it is so ingrained in our society. We have definitely come a long way in the sense that women are treated more fairly than they were 50 years ago, however, there is still a lot of work to be done.