"Clients should be greeted using the formula 'Bonjour, Madame' or 'Bonjour, Monsieur'".
So far, so good. What could go wrong with that?
There is, however, one slight problem: what happens when you CAN'T TELL? It may sound callous (not callus, there will be no podiatric problems in this post) but it does happen, and surprisingly often.
The hair, the face, the clothes- none affords any indication as to the gender of the customer. I look, subtly but carefully, for facial hair. Still no luck? I look at the hands- rings can be a giveaway. Then there's the voice, but that doesn't always help, either. Time to give in...
"Bonjour, M...(mumbles and turns round as if to look for essential equipment behind chair).
Ah, the thrills of life as a checkout girl.
Back to the cupboard, now, I think: I may have offended the National Federation of Bearded Ladies and I should probably lay low for a while (I'm small, so that shouldn't be too hard...)
No comments:
Post a Comment