When I walked into White House Black Market the other day, the salesperson asked me if she could help me. I told her I was “just looking.” She asked, “what are you a size 12?” (I was horrified that she would guess my size especially since I am a 6! Regardless of the size, I don’t think salespeople should guess your size in public.)
I gave a proposal to a potential client for a relatively big project. I quoted him out $20,000 for the project. He called me later in the day and said, “what am I running a fundraiser for the “Hilary Topper” show? I’ll give you $3,000 for the project.” To say the least, I walked away!
I received a letter about an event being held at a local college. The event focused on women business owners. The letter read, “since you are a woman in business, I thought you would like to attend this important conference.” I wrote back and said, why would I be interested because I”m a woman? The writer said, “yes.”
I ordered a necklace from Tarina Tarantino online. When I got it, it was broken. I returned it and the salespeople told me that since there were strands of hair on the necklace that they were unable to help me. So much for that company!
I was on a plane with Ellen Heydt going to Austin. The captain was talking with us. He asked Ellen if she wanted to sit in his seat, “your mom over here would be proud,” he said. (Mom? At least he didn’t say “Grandma!”)
At SXSW, a woman behind the American Express booth was telling me that they now have a deal with Twitter to offer discounts to consumers. “Do you even have a Twitter Account?” she said to me. I looked at her and thought… ageism?
When I went back to the American Express booth, a young woman was handing out postcards. “What are you giving away?” I asked. “Oh, it’s a live stream of a Jay-Z concert. Do you know who Jay-Z is?” Ummm… Okay, I’m staying away from the American Express booth at the SXSW Conference!!!!
