Rude Businesspeople – Council on Size and Weight Discrimination

Dealing With Rude Businesspeople

The Council has heard from countless people who have been poorly treated by professionals and businesspeopleevery kind of business from gymnasiums to tanning salons to clothing storessimply because they were larger than average. Professional people and business owners should know that they do not make friends by treating their customers and potential customers rudely. Professional people and business owners should know that they do not make friends by treating their customers and potential customers this way.

Although there are no laws that protect people from rude treatment by business people, there are some things you can do.

First of all, if possible, get the name and the position of the person who treated you rudely. Write yourself a note of the exact time and what was said or done. Then find out the name of the owner of the business. The manager may or may not be the owner. And often, several businesses are owned by a corporation or an individual who may not be on the premises. You can call the business and ask who owns the business and what their address is. If you are asked why you want to know, we suggest that you say you want to write a letter to the owner. You don’t have to mention that it will be a letter of complaint. If they will not give you the address, then look them up in the phone book and write to them at that address, putting on the envelope Attention: Business Owner.

Then write a letter, using clear language, describing the events that took place. It is important for you to give dates and times, and use the names of anyone involved, if you know them. After you have described the event fully, then tell the company how this treatment made you feel. Give your opinion of how inappropriate this behavior was. Make sure your spelling and grammar are correct so that your letter will be taken seriously. You may want to have someone check it as well.

And finally, describe how you should have been treated. For instance, you might say that the person who spoke to you should have asked you to step into a more private place. Or you might say that the person should never have said anything like that to you. It is up to you to decide how you would have liked to be treated. End the letter with a request for a reply, and give them your phone, email, and mailing address so they can reach you.

Send this letter to the company. If they are responsible and professional business people, they will get back to you with an apology. If they do not, you might consider reporting them to your local Better Business Bureau or Chamber of Commerce. Businesses depend on good public relations, and they do not want to get a reputation for rudeness.

Finally, find a way to get support. If you were the victim of rude and insensitive behavior, you may need to talk to others about what happened to you and how it made you feel. It is terrible that people think they can still get away with such rudeness when it comes to the issue of weight. This is why the Council on Size & Weight Discrimination does this work, to change society’s attitudes. Hopefully, someday such treatment will be a thing of the past. Until then, it is important for individuals to take a stand and let businesses know this is not acceptable.