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.
