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Age Discrimination - Page 2

I just recently ran back across this forum and realized that there was a post before Smudge's. . ., go me. The original question was asking whether or not we have ever experienced age discrimination.

Absolutely. People assume that just because I am young I have no manner, won't tip well, don't know what I'm doing, etc. A few weeks ago my boyfriend and I went out to eat at a restraunt. After waiting for about twenty minutes, the waitress finally came over to us and took our drink orders. Now, had they been busy, I would have been completely understanding because I used to work in the restraunt business. But, she had two tables right around us and had gone back to check on them a good seven or eight times before coming to us once. All the other tables were filled with people of her own age. Then, she eventually took our food orders, and completely messed my order up, blaming me. So, my boyfriend and I switched meals because the salad I had gotten was showered in onions, which was what I had specifically asked for without. When she had brought us the food, she made a statement saying that "That's just how the Mediterranean Chicken is." In my mind I was thinking that maybe it came pre-mixed and she just didn't find it important to tell me that when I ordered without onions. When she brought us our ticket, she apologized about the mix up and said you had to "order it without onions if you didn't want it."

I'm so glad I have control over my temper. It proved to me that she wasn't listening to me, and she treated us like dirt, yet her older customers hse treated like gold. Needless to say we left her about a two dollar tip.

Another instance was when a bunch of us from my old school went campaigning for President Bush. Naturally since we are college age, we know nothing of politics. We had so many people try to down us because we didn't know what we were doing or talking about. Not that we did it with a spiteful heart, but it was always so rewarding to see the looks on their faces when we went through what Bush stood for and some of his policies.

Discrimination Age

The plant that I worked at when I first left school closed one year and a half after I had hired. I interviewed for jobs and one particular interview always bothered me. They were looking for a supervisor of a particular process area. I had all the experience that they said they were requiring for the position. However, the plant manager thought I was too young for the job (I was only 24 at the time), but said I interviewed really well and he liked me (not well enough to get the job). That was probably the first really blatant discrimination that I experienced in my life.

Offtopic but, Fun part to the story: I really liked the area where that job was located. Five years after the failed interview, I returned to the very same area with a different company. A few months after I moved, I ran into that manager that had turned me down for the supervisors position and was able to tell him that my current position would be the equivalent of the manager of the position I had applied for in his company. Obviously, someone else did not think that I was too young!

Ambria, when I have been in that situation, I typically leave a quarter behind. Having been in the restaurant business several years ago (washed A LOT of dishes in my time), I remembered looking at people that left a 5 or 10% as being on the cheap side and so did the waitresses. However, if they left only a quarter or less, I knew that they were really unhappy with the service. So, in my mind, when I leave the quarter, it is for the waiter or waitress to call their parents up and get a refresher on manners. Plus, if I leave only quarter, they know that I actually thought enough to leave something and that this was what I considered the service was worth.

Vincenzo

Age Discrimination History & Civil Business Politics

I was a victim of age discrimination for being too young. I worked at a job for 3 years, showed up every day, never called out, always WORKED while I was on the clock, and was told several times that I couldn't get a position because I was too young. It killed me knowing I had so much to offer, actually enjoyed my job, and out-scored anyone in testing/training/certifications, but still... I was too young. Oh well... life goes on.


Smudge - very interesting point:

Makes you think huh.....there are maybe a handful of students graduating high school that are actually aware of what's going on in the political world (not just in a hurry to please their parents and vote for their political party). I think it would be beneficial for everyone in the country to be among a voting public that has passed a test actually qualifying them to be able to vote (even under 18).