...
We've actually had customers walk in and want to speak to a male.
I have a story like that:
I had one *sshole come into my shop, and my screen printer came down the stairs to greet him and find out what he needs (printed shirts), and he says to her, rudely, "is there someone else here who can help me?"
She let me know someone needed help, and he was a pr*ck to me too, basically saying he's had nothing but problems with all the other shops he's dealt with and putting down our industry as a whole, all while calling the manager of the previous shop he used a "dike" and other similar homophobic slurs.
Also kept blaming the quality of the ratty 3+ year old, *used* shirt (the shirt, not the print on the shirt) on the previous shop, as if they knitted it themselves, and he clearly expected way too much out of cheap t-shirts they do construction work in for crying out!
I killed him with kindness and gave him a quote and helped him find a different brand of shirt he might like better and everything, but also made it CRYSTAL clear that I would not spend a minute on creating new artwork until I got half the invoice payment down.
The whole time while I was speaking with this guy he was near fuming, as if I personally had already wronged him in some way, and he was pissed about it. Such a miserable guy, I can't believe he hasn't had a stroke yet.
Glad to say he never returned.
My sister, who happens to be my screen printer, told me later how he had initially been so rude to her when he first came in, and I've never been so disgusted with another human in my life as this guy.
Ugh.