Sexist Views...

[DiverChick71]

How many other girls feel like they get treated differently when they are dealing with a marina or boat yard or other marine-related company?

I made a phone call today to ask some questions about materials I need to order for a boat repair. I'm not at all bashing the guy that helped me, he was very helpful and seem genuinely to want me to have success in my project. I would rate my customer satisfaction with the call very high. But he asked me, "Do you have someone to help you with this?"
Hmmm. How am I supposed to take that? I wasn't being particularly clueless. I was asking about different ratios for epoxy thickening and if I should use fillers, etc.

So I just wonder if he would have had the same approach if my boyfriend would have called and asked the same questions instead of me? He flat out said he's never had anyone ask him if he had "someone to help him" even when he's talked to a shop owner about a totally foreign subject and been completely clueless.

At any rate, it's a moot point because I'm way too much of an involved party to let him make my phone calls, I wouldn't be satisfied with the answers he got, even though they would likely lead down the same path. But I'm curious if anyone else feels they are treated differently because we are the fairer sex.

[zeehag]

chick, we are always dealt with in a strange manner--if they aint spitting on us they trying to get in our pants. rarely do we get looked at with equality--is a very sexist game we in..... they feel bad when we show em up also.

the good thing is we can still use it to get what we want with sometimes less pricetag....

[Coops]

We have ladies working in the chandlery and they get so pissed off with being asked by men if there is somebody in the shop who can help them. One of them has done a circumnavigation on her own boast and the other lives on hers.

Coops.

[DiverChick71]

Originally Posted by zeehag

the good thing is we can still use it to get what we want with sometimes less pricetag....

Haha---and I'm totally guilty of using my chickness to my advantage at times. Really quite ridiculous to think I can have it both ways, huh? Btw I save my clueless questions for you...in PM form! Just digging around in all the hoses of the boat has helped me learn a ton..what goes where, etc. And she is so forgiving...our boat is. Everything we have screwed up as been 100% operator error. Hopefully tackling this deck job will put me at ease with fiberglass. I'm scared to start but I think once I do start, it will be less overwhelming.

[DiverChick71]

Originally Posted by Coops

We have ladies working in the chandlery and they get so pissed off with being asked by men if there is somebody in the shop who can help them. One of them has done a circumnavigation on her own boast and the other lives on hers.

Coops.

Coops, I sincerely wish I had those ladies to help me out in our store! I watched a friend of mine re-fit her boat, she had no more experience than me, maybe less. I'm ready to dig in and start working because that's really the only way to learn.

[tamicatana]

Chauvinism is alive and (not) well

[rebel heart]

I was in San Diego Sailing Supply (retail store) and saw the lady answer the phone, asked the caller to wait, and then asked a guy standing next to her to pick it up. She said, "He wants to talk to a man."

I asked her how often it happens and she said about once a day. People just call, hear her voice, and ask for a man. Incidentally she is a very accomplished sailor.

Old white men and their view that the only people can do anything right are other old white men.

[Coops]

I have just been notified of my typo. Boast, should have been boat of course. But, as was pointed out to me, that is funny as it stands so will leave it. May apply to a few folks in fact.

Coops.

[casual]

Just being helpful would be my opinion. Your asking a lot of questions may have lead him to believe you maybe over your head true or not. I personally have been ask the same question. Perhaps he was looking for side work or knew some one looking for work. All kinds of possibilities not related to gender. A quick side note. I recently had major surgery when I awoke in recovery I was greeted by a male nurse. Man was I upset LOL

[WebWench]

This kind of stuff has happened to me all my life....I just take it in stride. The DH and I are both engineers and we love to watch peoples faces when we are together and I answer or ask the technical questions. The DH just plays along and grins!

[Ocean Girl]

I worked at west marine for a few years in my twenties. I was pretty good at everything except electronics( hate em). Sometimes, when a customer was sent over to me to get some questions answered, the customer would round the corner and come up short, look down at me waiting to help him, and look back and around confused over the surprise. in their defense, I was pretty darn adorable
It usually didn't take long to get them up to speed. Sometimes they'd go back to a guy to get a "second opinion", the guys would come over and ask me for the answer .
And I cannot tell you how many times at west marine I've passed the phone to a guy saying " they need to talk to a man"

To be fair I've gotten that treatment from a few wives too.

[DiverChick71]

Originally Posted by casual

Just being helpful would be my opinion. Your asking a lot of questions may have lead him to believe you maybe over your head true or not. I personally have been ask the same question. Perhaps he was looking for side work or knew some one looking for work. All kinds of possibilities not related to gender. A quick side note. I recently had major surgery when I awoke in recovery I was greeted by a male nurse. Man was I upset LOL

Funny. Our female doctors can be working side by side with male nurses and patients often call the male nurses "Dr." Diverdude is a nurse, he gets called doctor a lot, too. We all assign subconscious roles, I guess. On a side note, DD was showing me the dremel attachments and how the attachments work. After about my third comment on his use of certain words like "shaft", etc, I was informed that I had no right to complain about sexism. Ever. And he walked away. Lol.

[DiverChick71]

Originally Posted by Ocean Girl

I worked at west marine for a few years in my twenties. I was pretty good at everything except electronics( hate em). Sometimes, when a customer was sent over to me to get some questions answered, the customer would round the corner and come up short, look down at me waiting to help him, and look back and around confused over the surprise. in their defense, I was pretty darn adorable
It usually didn't take long to get them up to speed. Sometimes they'd go back to a guy to get a "second opinion", the guys would come over and ask me for the answer .
And I cannot tell you how many times at west marine I've passed the phone to a guy saying " they need to talk to a man"

To be fair I've gotten that treatment from a few wives too.

You're a nurse also, right? I think nurses in general are very hands on, lets get this done, physical people. So I am mostly accustomed to figuring things out. I think it will help me in this whole "boat thing." :-)

[Astrid]

I couldn't even begin to tell you all the times I have run up against that at boat yards, chandleries, etc., but auto and aviation related things as well, not to mention in the veterinary profession as well. It's all around us I am afraid.

[Teknav]

Put yourself in this woman's Civil Engineer shoes...saw her, the other day, yelling at a foreman over a bridge construction site...the newly constructed road leading to the bridge was off by a few inches...the cement truck was late... The foreman was really sweating it out! Professional women will not tolerate any abusive conduct or dereliction of duty.

Mauritz