Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Reggie on February 20, 2011 at 7:44pm

I try to not broach it in the work environment, especially with customers.  Not because I don't think I don't have the right, but because it is not politically expedient and doing otherwise could harm my effectiveness in my job.  At the end of the day, my thoughts on politics and religion don't pay my bills or support my family.  While I would never deny being an atheist to coworkers, I don't advertise it either.  In Sales one learns quick to be whatever the customer wants you to be.  If they hate atheists, then you are not an atheist as far as they know.

That said, you should have informed your boss that you merely stated facts and offered no opinions.  Or, maybe not.

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Permalink Reply by scLovely on February 20, 2011 at 11:51pm

Be careful. If your managers are theists, they may try to find reasons to get you fired now. If you start getting treated differently, talk to an attourney. People may give me flack about posting this, but it isn't fair for anyone to get treated differently because of this. My brother works at a manufacturer for car parts and he is being attacked because a few co-workers have found out he is atheist. They have taken all of them to the side, including my brother, and told them they are not to talk about religion at all in the work place. Now the christians are wearing "god" shirts and crosses and they aren't getting in trouble, but I bet anything that if my brother wears a darwin shirt, he will get written up.

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on February 21, 2011 at 12:37am

I hate to say that the reality of some situations is not always fair or just.  This is why I am an advocate of taking advice with grains of salt.  For some people. being an unapologetic and outspoken atheists is the cat's meow.  For others, it could literally be a death sentence.  Always evaluate your situation and do what is best for you.  If it benefits you none to come out atheists, then don't do it.  Especially if you expect some personal benefit.  If you are sacrificing for future atheists, then realize that you will suffer without gain and likely some loss.

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Permalink Reply by scLovely on February 21, 2011 at 1:00am

What you say is very true. It does depend upon the person and their situation. I can take the heat and I no longer care when people drop me out of their lives. It hurts but I get over it. I am just the type of person that absolutely CANNOT keep my mouth shut. I feel like I am going to explode if I don't at least say something. I have never really figured out why I am this way, and I think in some cases it is a bad trait, but I do try to keep it out of my work environment. However, when people assume I am christian and they repeatedly bring it up at work, I try to drop hints without just coming straight out and saying that their religion is bullshit. But everywhere other than work, all bets are off.

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on February 21, 2011 at 1:24am

I'm the type of person that can't keep his mouth shut, either.  However, I have learned that keeping one's mouth shut can be quit the virtue.  The key is to know when to talk and when to shut up.  I'm still learning, unfortunately.

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Permalink Reply by Becca on February 21, 2011 at 12:55am

When the lady invited you to her church you should have just responded with no thank you and left it at that. Customers you interact with on the job don't need to know things like your religious views, your sexual orientation, or your political opinion if it's not relevant to your job. If the customer is doing something inappropriate or harassing you then you immediately talk to your manager or HR person. What I'd do if I were you is write down the date, the time, what happened, and what was said and file it away just in case this becomes an issue for some reason in the future.

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Permalink Reply by Skycomet the Fallen Angel on February 21, 2011 at 1:22pm

Exactly!  This is what I was trying to answer with but you said it better. I used to work in food service and I know that customers can bitch at you all the time. The best idea is to keep a level head and remain friendly... say as little as possible and get your manager if you can't diffuse the situation.

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Permalink Reply by Kris Feenstra on February 21, 2011 at 3:28am

Grey area. You didn't initiate a conversation on the topic of religion, and what you stated was a simple matter of fact in response to a question. You weren't wrong. Your situation was also avoidable. As others have stated, it generally would have been enough to decline the invitation politely without further explanation. In that sense, you weren't right either. It was what it was, the customer took it the wrong way, and ultimately that's going to come back to you one way or another.

It's quite possible that the incident hit your manager's "I don't want to deal with this shit" button. He may very well not care one way or the other what you believe (or don't believe); he just doesn't want to talk to customers that happen to be annoying.

Sometimes you can get the most impact out of showing the least response. If you appear troubled or distressed, your manager has room to push you around. If you appear angered or frustrated, your manager has an excuse to reprimand. If you simply respond with professional neutrality your manager has to respond in kind.

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Permalink Reply by Eoganacht on February 21, 2011 at 5:23am

You should not discuss atheism at the workplace or any setting simular. Although the women did ask, invite, take offence at a reasonably polite statement of fact, and then complain to your manager about something inapproprate she had brought up for discussion in a workplace situation. She should have not offered and you should not have had to reply. Really you just have to deal with life and understand that not all situations are fair; the majority of people are bias to some extent and that is normally towards popular or common culture.

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Permalink Reply by Reggie on February 21, 2011 at 1:11pm

Agreed.

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Permalink Reply by Skycomet the Fallen Angel on February 21, 2011 at 1:29pm

NOT A GOOD IDEA!! I used to work in food service and I know from personal experience that while some customers are sweethearts, others are assholes and can be very unfair. When I was working at KFC I was the cashier... the "packer" [the one who puts the chicken in the bucket] was a newbie on her first day. It wasn't my job to pack the food... but regardless it's always the cashier that gets blamed when customers get given wrong orders. I remember a woman who came in at rush hour and screamed at me that the drive-through clerk had shorted her order 1 drumstick. [She had ordered a 16 piece meal]. It was unfair. Not only was I not connected to drive-through in any way... but the packer was the one who had shorted her a drumstick... AND it was 1 fucking drumstick!! She screamed at me for about 20 minutes while about 10 customers behind her looked both irritated and shocked. I tried to calm her down and apologized again and again. Finally the manager came to my rescue and offered the woman a coupon for a free 16 piece chicken. She stormed out muttering to herself. 

 

Point is... customers can be assholes... but if you want to keep your job you have to be nice to them anyway.

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Permalink Reply by Eoganacht on February 21, 2011 at 4:17pm

One dumstick? all that for one bone with a bit of meat? is that worth 20 minutes of both your time, her time and the time of the customers waiting in line? That is insane.

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