What should my boss have done? Would it be different now?

[Poppystone]

This is years ago but it has stayed with me.

I was a young and ambitious woman working in banking with medium sized businesses. I was due to be at a meeting with my boss and a high value customer, who was from the Muslim community which formed at lot of our customers in the area I was working at the time.

When he arrived, the customer told my boss he wasn't prepared to discuss his finances in front of a woman and I was asked to leave.

My boss was very apologetic afterwards but in view of the value of the client didn't feel he had a choice, and tbh I accepted that at the time.

Should I have? What should I or my boss done differently? What would happen today?

Fwiw, boss gave me all the details afterwards and I did all the work to out together the deal he wanted!

I think the same thing would happen today sadly. Rich clients always get what they want.

Yes, I tend to agree but also wonder how the employer would have defended it, had I decided to complain.

I own a business. I’d tell the client we clearly weren’t the right fit for him and I would have done the same 20 years ago.

Also years ago, I was young, working in marketing and a client from the Middle East was visiting the UK and came into our offices. He was being shown around and was introduced to me. I stuck out my hand to shake his and he literally took several steps back from me and looked horrified. My boss smoothed it over but I remember standing there with my hand out and wondering what had happened.