It happened again to my dad. This time, it was at a high-end watch store. He was dressed simply with just a plain T-shirt, jeans and slippers. He was not trying to impress anyone. He was just looking for a watch that he liked. While browsing through the glass displays, he took his time and carefully studied each piece. After thinking it over, he finally made his choice and stepped into the store to take a closer look.
At first, the salesman welcomed him politely. But the moment the salesman noticed my dad’s slippers then everything changed. His friendly tone turned cold and his smile disappeared. My dad could tell right away that the salesman had judged him purely by appearance. It was not about what kind of customer he was or whether he could afford the watch. It was simply because he did not “look the part.”
Feeling embarrassed and unwanted, my dad quietly left the store. When he shared the story with me, I felt deeply disappointed. Why should anyone be treated differently just because they do not dress a certain way? Good service should never depend on appearances.
Sadly, this is not a rare experience. Many people face unfair treatment because of their clothes, skin colour or the way they speak. But respect should be given to everyone and not just to those who seem wealthy or fashionable.
We must remember that every customer deserves to be treated with basic dignity, whether they are wearing slippers or expensive shoes. A person’s worth is not measured by their outfit. Behind every plain T-shirt is a story, a dream and a hard-working individual. It is time we stop judging others by how they look and start treating everyone with kindness, respect and fairness. That is the service every human deserves.
Serene Lau (serenelauhn@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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