Want double glazing? Better check with the hubbie first!
What sexist window salesmen told mums who wanted a quote
‘It’s dangerous to make assumptions’
TWO mothers described their shock after sexist double glazing salesmen suggested they should check with their husbands before buying windows.
One of the women was told she should ‘consult with the Mr’ on his budget before making a decision.
Friends Kate Richards and Laura Davidson had been overseeing renovations at their homes when they requested quotes from anglian Home improvements.
Mrs Richards, 34, said she was asked if a man was home ‘ to decide’ on whether he wanted to go ahead with the work.
The solicitor said she was then given a contract in her husband’s name even though she placed the order while he was away.
When she queried this, she claims she was told it was simply ‘because she was married’.
She later discovered that Mrs Davidson, 38, a content manager at the Collections Trust charity, had a similar experience earlier this year.
Mrs Davidson, from Brockley, South London, said a salesman from the Norwich-based firm suggested that she ‘consult with the Mr’ on what his budget was.
Mother- of-two Mrs Richards, also from Brockley, said it was an example of ‘everyday sexism’. She said: ‘Sometimes it’s easier to just let it go and not be pedantic about it, but afterwards i thought about it and called the store manager.
‘The worst thing was he didn’t seem to understand why i was shocked. He was more concerned about having a happy customer rather than understanding that you shouldn’t be dealing with customers like that. i asked why they put it in my husband’s name and said if they were asking me to sign a contract it should be in my name. He just told me it doesn’t matter and that they did it because i was married.
She added: ‘i was incredulous. it’s dangerous to make assumptions that someone is married or heterosexual.’
Mrs Richards went ahead with the work earlier this month because she had decided these were the windows she wanted and she had already paid for them. When she discussed her experiences with Mrs Davidson, she discovered that her friend had asked for a quote from the company two months earlier.
as a result of the employee’s alleged comments about ‘consulting the Mr’, Mrs Davidson had decided not to use the company.
She said: ‘He was asking if i worked, what i did and what my husband did for a living. it’s none of his business. Then i told him my husband worked in IT and he said, “he’ll be quite well off then”.
‘He left me some information for my husband. That night when he came home, we decided we wouldn’t be using them. it’s one of those things where you are quite taken aback.
‘i just think people need to realise that in this day and age, women are more than capable of running households and businesses and making important financial decisions.
‘What anglian are doing is alienating their market and putting off 50 per cent of the population.’
an anglian spokesman explained that it was ‘standard procedure’ to ask whether both partners would be present during a consultation.
The spokesman added: ‘We fully appreciate it is not always possible for both parties to be available and many of our meetings and presentations are with one person, not two.
‘We have been working closely with our customers to fulfil their order but can only apologise that an error has impacted their experience on this occasion.’