to feel uncomfortable being served by woman with tourettes that kept swearing at me?

[racmac]

I went to a well known high street store and was served by a lady who had tourettes. I have no problem with this or any of her ticks BUT she kept saying cunt and wanker - i dont use these words in front of my children so dont expect others to AIBU in expecting that she shouldnt be serving customers?

It was rather disconcerting to be told "thats £20.00 please, cunt, wanker"

Racmac

needmorecoffee how is it intolerant to say we don't want our children to be sworn at? That makes no sense at all.

I'm sat here baffled at anybody being comortable with someone swearing like that at their child. Regardless of a condition.

I think it's this kind of over-sensitivity that has lead us where we are. You can't comment on anything anymore without being disablist/racist/ageist etc! It madness. It is no insult to say a blind man shouldn't be a driving instructor, just as a person with tourettes who uses words like cunt and wanker isn't really suited to serve members of the public with small children.

This doesn't mean we aren't sympathetic to the persons condition, nor do we blame them for it, nor are we intolerant. Simply that a person with tourettes would perhaps be better suited to a job where swearing at young children wasn't as likely.

aand you can't decide you find some impairments 'acceptable' and some not.

sorry - meant disability

but no doubt I'll now be slagged off forever for saying disease now and that will negate my argument

I don't think anyone is advocating that she shouldn't be allowed to work, just that customer service is perhaps not the best option for her.

I'm dyspraxic, I doubt I'd be able to make a dress,become a chef, or teach people how to drive, there are plenty of other things I could do but I certainly wouldn't be suited to those, no matter how much I wish I could do them.

Often if there's a problem preventing a person who is disabled from doing a particular job, the issue is the lack of accommodations/adjustments and not their disability but I'm unable to think of anything that could improve this particular situation.

it's PC bollocks that's all

I am not good at maths - I won't be employed as an actuary

I cannot walk - I won't be employed as a warehouseman

If one cannot control swearing or physical outburts - they won't make a good customer rep

none of which mean we should be hidden away just that the nature of the job dictates the applicant - and an applicant who has got that kind of job has been employed by people who are scared of doing the wrong thing because of the disability which is far, far worse. Positive discrimination has it's place but it is idiotic to do this and it annoys me a lot

I'm with Catchastar. The woman has Tourettes, which is unfortunate but there are LOADS of jobs she could do that would be better suited to her. It's not disablist to comment on her unsuitability for the job. If I was your holiday rep in France, spoke fluent Spanish but not a word of French, I wouldn't really be suited for the job would I ? I would be much more suited to a holiday rep job in Spain. This post is bonkers - PC gone crazy.

so if something offends you it must be out of sight?

people who swear either within or without their own control are not suitable customer service reps

so if I think someone isn't suitable in a job I have a right to be offended? Thats ok. You can be offended but disabled people have a right to work.
I don't like dealing with non-wheelchair users in shops but I've learend to live with it.

I don't think making a fuss about this is at all disablist, as someone put it. We covered this exact type of thing and its relationship with employment law in a compulsory equal opps course I attended at work recently.

I suppose my argument would go like this. Working in any kind of customer-facing role requires a degree of politeness and diplomacy. This is a requirement of the job, as it is termed in employment law. Swearing at customers and their children for whatever reason is inappropriate and suggests the assistant cannot meet the requirements of the job, even with reasonable adjustments. This might also apply to a quadriplegic who applied for a job stacking shelves, for example, or a visually impaired person who applied for a job as a lollipop person.

Therefore it would not be discriminatory to apply the usual standards as part of the application process. It would however be discriminatory to apply these criteria to back office administrative jobs, as for example a person with Tourette's could be given an office of his or her own, rather than being forced to work in open plan, for example, to avoid personally stressful situations as well as the disruption of other people's work - this would be the kind of reasonable adjustment I referred to above.

Being aware of disability means having a degree of tolerance and being prepared to try to work around problems, but this cannot always be the case in all situations.

I'll second the PC gone mad.

I hold an interest in Astronomy, it doesn't mean I'd be suited to any kind of job at NASA. It's called being realistic.

My Gran has had a few strokes and can harldy walk or talk. To say she'd be suited to a job in a call centre, or a nurery assistant running around after children all day, is silly. It's terribly sad, but unfortuantely it's happened and that's that. Some people get the raw end of the stick and it's horrid for them. But I think sometimes you just have to admit that something wont work very well, and there can be limitations.

anyone has the right to be offended by swearing by a customer services rep even if it's not directed at them

But making this lady work out of sight and earshot of your precious childrens' will not result in them never being exposed to swearing. My children heard utterly foul language on the bus home today from a young mum who didn't weant to fold up her pushchair - about 5 minutes of very loud vile language. Swearing happens, like it or not (I don't). This woman can't help her disability. She should work wherever she likes. Nothing will be gained by shutting her away and it's crass beyond credence that anyone thinks she should be.

It was M & S and i applaud their equal ops - i think that its important that everyone is valued and is part of society - whatever their disabilities.

But i dont think its right that a person that can not control their language should work in a position where they are swearing at customers all day long.

But to call me precious because i dont want my children to hear swearing like that is wrong.

Im well aware that as teenagers and probably younger they will have lovely words to say but i do not want my 3 year old child repeating wanker and cunt and thinking its ok

Rude and sarcastic comments do nothing to change anyones opinions - they merely cause bad feeling

2Advent, I have tremendous empathy.

I was simply unnerved and surprised to be caught full in the face by a hot piece of toast accompanied by loud barking and swearing. I learnt to duck.

I really do think it's a bit like dogs, ie Pavlov. When she swears she should be punched, hard. After a few times she will learn that certain words provoke certain reactions and temper her foul and unnecessary obscenities. We (Adults Against Unnecessary Swearing)tried this when we were at our wits' end in our local Boots, and believe me, it really works with persistence.

I think we should be clear that in no way was this woman swearing at anyone - she was swearing as a tic.

It is still inappropriate for a customer services rep

i work at m&s in a very large store. i have several staff in my team with disabilities of varying degrees.

if a customer had a problem with any of these staff i'd happily discuss it with them, detailing the DDA.

Don't be daft, hullygully, it's a kind of physical short circuit in the brain.

My dad has a version of it that gives him a dramatic shoulder tic, which made him drill through his hand recently when doing some DIY, resulting in extensive neurosurgery. We have banned him from getting the drill out now and he certainly won't be allowed to moonlight as a carpenter from now on. It's not because we're disablist, it's because he hurts himself when he does things like this!! Hitting him would not have helped!! Neither did him drilling through his own hand!!

ruudynorah

Im curious - would lots of people "complain" about disabilities ? It didnt cross my mind to complain i was just shocked at being sworn at - and yes i know she was not doing it on purpose or AT me.

absolutely ridiculous, what were they thinking?

yanbu at all! couldn't they have put her in the stockroom or something?

nobody will complain but they shouldn't be put in the position to have to imo

This is so not true. But a good idea.

I've just written a long reply but it got a bit overwraught so I've deleted it and will just say: I do not think you are being unreasonable OP. Give her a job, yes, of course, but not one that depends on interaction with the public all day. It's inappropriate.