Having fun with a customer at work. Me? American??
 

was handling one of the transaction with a customer today. I needed him to show me his state issued idea. It is a company policy as well as mandatory by the state law. He was probably in this late 60s. He didn't have any and instead he pulled out his senior citizen reduced fare MTA metro card with his picture on it. He was sure old enough to collect SS and I don't see how he could have no proper id on him. I told him that was not sufficient. Here is the kicker. He went on saying that this stupid MTA metro card could get him to enter my country and couldn't see why it wasn't sufficient enough. I wasn't sure wtf he was referring when he said "your country." I guess I wasn't "white," therefore, I am not an American??? I have no problem with these people. I have long overcome this people like a stepping stone to a higher plane of existence.

I am also known as the Devil at work by my staff. That's beceause how cruel I can get in many work situations and in dealing with customer's nuaisance.

"So, you've been to Hong Kong???" I asked him.
"What?" he asked.
"My country? Yeah, I was from Hong Kong" I replied to him.
"Oh, I went to Tokyo" he stuttered embarassingly.

I was shaking my head, rolling my eyes, and gesturing to him that how ridiculous he was. He left and I chuckled with my staff for couple of minutes about this ridiculous incidence.

What an ignoramus. Those are the types of folks you just have to laugh off, knowing they don't have the benefit of higher brain function like you and I.

I normally don't think too much about race and ethnicity issue nowadays. I pretty much use the European approach to handle race, ethnicity, and nationality. Every one is different even though for a simple fact that they may have the same skin color complexion. Peoples do prefer to protect their identities through ethnicity and nationality. I don't assume just because a German and an Italian may share many similar "racial" appearance they will get along. :)

I like to leech off other asian people's smartness and pretend I'm smart too cause people assume I'm smart just cause I'm chinese.
Little do they know...

Yes yes, but you can't even assume that an Italian and and Italian will get along. What family do you belong to? People naturally try to distinguish themselves based on any means possible, while at the same time attaching superior value to whatever group they happen to be in. I think that distrust of anybody or anything that's different or unknown is an inane human characteristic. Racism is a human shortcoming, more than it is a crime.

dude you're chinese? i would have never known.

edit: (that was a drunken attempt at a joke)

If I hate all people equally.. am I racist? Or just a horrible person?

Wow - New York issues ideas to each of its citizens? Only one apiece? Or can you get two... or three. I'm guessing just one. Would explain a lot.

You can get a lot of fake ideas at the corner of 7th & Alvarado, here in L.A.

You can get fake ideas at the Mexican grocery store next door to my LBS.

the best way to deal with that is by repeating what the customer said back to them so they can hear it. it's hard to back up that kind of logic.

Not to make excuses for this guy's racial assumptions, but WTF would he need a state-issued ID? AFAIK New York isn't a police state that requires you to have state-issued papers in order to make business transactions. This is a cycling forum, so you should realize better than most of the population that carrying a driver's license isn't mandatory if you're not driving, and likewise nobody is required to get a state ID card if they don't drive. Where exactly do you work so the New Yorkers in the list can avoid doing business there?

"State issued idea?" with malapropisms like that, it's no wonder he assumed that English was a second language for you.

No way in hell they let him into Japan with a bus pass. I was just there. It was the most anal security screening I had in my recent four nation tour. ("Please to pat you down sir?") Next time you might tell his kind that compared to the nation of Singapore his esteemed New York State is a developing nation. ;)

PS R600DuraAce In case anyone hasn't said it yet, "Welcome to America!"

Yeah, I am sure I was asking for his ideas...... :rolleyes: BTW, don't do our business??? There are no other places to do your business then. :) BTW, as a cyclist, you have to carry IDs unless you just ride around your block.

Sorry. That's too late for that. I have been here for 20 years. I have already deconstructed race and ethnicity in American like the back of my hand. The conclusion is quite simple. If you are "white," you are automatically assumed to be an American. That also explains why when "white" Americans travel to another European country the natives consider them to be arrogant and rude. The concept of "white" is an inclusive idea which assume its form in culture, race, and identity. While it is so inclusive may have some other motives whichis beyond the scope of this message board. That concept or construction is as cloudy as a pool of mud. The same paradigm can't be applied to the Asian since Asians in general are not that intermixed historically and culturally.

Looking for a job, soon you may be.

Doubt it. We ranked number 2 in our NY district. :) Guess some people couldn't deal with the truth. Too bad.....:D

Nope, you most certainly don't. It's a good idea, though, to carry one in case you knock yourself senseless in a crash.

Now, if a cop stops you for something, you do have to identify yourself, but that simply means telling him your name. You absolutely do not have to produce any "papers".

But they also have to have a reason to request your identity, too. They can't just roll up to someone riding a bike and demand to know who the person is. It's even been tried before the Supreme Court. You can read a little more about it here: http://www.cjlf.org/releases/04-22.htm

This elicits visions of Robo-Cop-esque scenes of an armored enforcer telling a pedestrian, "You have ten seconds to produce your travel papers or I will open fire... 9... 8... 7..." You have to carry your drivers license if you drive a *motor vehicle,* but otherwise there is absolutely no law requiring anyone to carry identification on their person. It's only a good idea, in case you are injured and family needs to be notified.

Considering your appalling treatment of customers, I'm surprised your employer is still in business. There must not be any competition at all. Second in your district? Is that like being third in a two-man race?

Doesn't sounds like he was THAT rude to the guy, really . . . just asked if he'd ever been to Hong Kong. BTW, R600, what business are you in?

So true. Once I was crossing the Mexico and US border on foot with my wife, who is a blonde Latvian. Entering Mexico was no problem. As a Latvian she needed a visa, but no one asked. We were just waved across the border. Comng back into America all the people who were not white were stopped. All the white people were asked by American border guards "American?". If you said "yes" you were waved through. My wife being the honest person that she is said, "No, I'm Latvian" The border guard seemed shocked and confused. He didn't want to deal with this. He grudgingly took her aside for a moment and looked at her passport. She was waved through. Some border security.

I used to work for a CD store that bought/sold used CDs and DVDs. In order to process the transaction when someone was selling us used CDs/DVDs, they were required to provide a government issued ID. Without it, our system wouldn't complete the transaction.

The best story I heard from a coworker was when a guy was selling CDs and handed the cashier his Registered Sex Offender ID card. The cashier said he needed a government issued ID. The customer looked at him and said, "what the hell do you think that is?"

Considering your appalling treatment of customers, I'm surprised your employer is still in business. [QUOTE]

You guys are all over R600, consider the situation. The old guy (hopefully) mistakenly let loose his not so thoughtfull and incorrect assumption that all people of Asian decent are Japanese. I will bet this fella was from out of town, because you don't say stuff like that to people here. It is grossly inconsiderate. You don't wish everyone a Merry Christmas, because it's a rude assumption. If America is a melting pot then NYC is the concentrated form, the white people being the umm... water. There are beautiful redheads walking around who are Orthodox Jews, I thought they were Irish chicks in long skirts. I feel Political Correctness is a pathetic standard but the acknowledgement of the idea is common courtesy. I lived in Chinatown for 7 years with a half Japanese woman, the Chinese vendors were always speaking to her in Cantonese or Mandarin.
Secondly This is NYC, the customer is not always right. i.e.(the soup nazi is a real guy) I don't think that what R600 said was rude as it was explained. Please remember the surroundings.

You are NOT required to carry ID when you ride, but it's a damn good idea to do so.

Try living in Miami, they think everyone speaks spanish regardless of what you look like, I work with a lady from Singapore and I am the most unhispanic looking person and both off us reguarly get spoken to in Spanish.

My collegue quite often speaks chinese to them in reply just to see the looks she gets.

When I reply I just broaden my scots accent and tell them what I think off them, people who know me and can usually understand my broad accent crack up.

How did this end up in general, wasn't this in Foo?

That's scary stuff. :) I am getting sick just by thinking of it. :) Is messed up.

Yes, is skillfully done. :) That's what you have to learn to do in my line of business. I work in the "entertainment industry." :)