The Catalyst

By Carmel Alpha, Co-managing Editor

When I walked into Old Navy the other day, I was courteously asked how I was doing, as is required of their employees. Then, I was off on my own to look for clothes, not to be bothered again. Behind me walked in, a tall, good-looking boy probably between the ages of 18 and 20 years old. As I grew more and more frustrated trying to find extra long pants, I couldn’t help but notice how the attractive boy (and only boy in the store) was helped by three different employees. I’m not saying that all the female employees specifically wanted to help this young man just because he was the only man. Truthfully, the store simply could have wanted to sell more men’s apparel…but somehow I doubt that.

I wanted to test my theory to see if your gender really does change how store employees treat you. To see if, even while being paid per hour, boys and girls cannot stop themselves from flirting with the opposite sex. The next few days I went to different stores and acted like I wanted to buy stuff, all the while asking many pointless questions. My results were surprisingly obvious.

My first stop was the manly, menacing, and not quite “my style” store, Sportsman’s Warehouse. The first employee I talked to was a girl who had to have thought that I was the most dim-witted person in the store. She even asked me, “Now you know what the SPF number stands for right?” She was most definitely making sure she told me how dumb she thought I was and was very unpleasant with me.

Next, I was floating around the fishing section when a young male employee stopped and told me so much about fly-fishing that I could now work there. This gent couldn’t wait to impress me, so he didn’t try to hold back on the overflow of information I really didn’t care to learn. I’m pretty sure he was trying to flirt with me…

I then went to Great Harvest Bread Company, where they are notorious for giving out free samples of their delicious, freshly made bread. This time, I was standing behind a boy while a male employee stood behind the counter taking his order. The boy in front of me, who had to ask for a sample, got a nice, average, slice of bread from the “butt” of the loaf. It was then my turn to ask my fake questions about prices of loaves, solely with the intent to get my free slice. Before I had a chance to make my fake inquires, the boy behind the counter started cutting me a generously, huge slice of bread, and asked me “Is THIS slice big enough for you?” For half a second I thought he was making a fat joke at me, but looking back at the slice he gave the boy in front of me, I knew he was just being nice. So I took it. Of course I wasn’t going to turn down this free slice of food or the huge smile on his face.

If you ever have time to just sit and observe employees in a coffee shop, department store, restaurant, or anywhere you will see them being flirtatious with all their customers. These occurrences happen alarmingly often. I think at this point in our lives, as customers and employees, we are subconsciously compelled to be nicer, more helpful, or simply more flirtatious to the opposite sex. After conducting this experiment and acknowledging these facts, my advice is to not fight it, but except it and work this warped system to your advantage. Be that person who gives a big smile to the person behind the counter. Most likely you will get excellent service.