‘Aww this made me sad’: Best Buy worker helps woman pick out a cell phone for her son. Then he overhears her say something when he walks away
Most people know better than to say out loud what they think about a stranger’s appearance. Even if a mean thought pops into your head, it’s common decency to keep it to yourself. Don’t say it to or around the person, lest they hear.
But these Best Buy customers didn’t seem to think this worker was worth the common courtesy. They ended up hurting his feelings instead.
What happened at Best Buy?
In a TikTok with more than 2.3 million views, Best Buy employee Dylan (@bigdylpcs) recounts a customer interaction. It started as a routine sale and ended with him overhearing something he wasn’t supposed to hear.
“Today at my job at Best Buy, one of the customers called me ugly,” the text overlay reads.
Dylan explains that he’d been helping a woman’s son pick out a prebuilt computer. When he stepped away to retrieve it from the warehouse, he caught something the woman said in his absence.
“I overheard her say, ‘Why did they send somebody ugly over here to help us?'”
He continues, “I don’t know why people treat me this way. I know my looks aren’t the best, but you don’t have to keep reminding me because I already know.”
Dylan says this isn’t a one-off. People have said things like this to him before, or around him before, and when he’s talked about it online, commenters have dismissed it.
“People always try to gaslight and invalidate my experiences in the comments when this stuff happens to me all the time,” he says.
What To Know About Lookism In The Workplace
What Dylan experienced has a name: lookism. It’s defined as prejudice or discrimination toward people considered physically unattractive, and according to EBSCO Research Starters, it’s most common in the workplace.
Studies have consistently shown that attractive people receive more lucrative job offers, better treatment from customers, and other advantages that average or less attractive people don’t. The flip side, what researchers call the “ugliness penalty,” is just as well documented.
Labor market research finds a 7 to 9 percent wage penalty for workers in the lowest tier of attractiveness, and a 5 percent premium for those considered above average looking.
Handsome men earn about 5% more than their less attractive counterparts on average; more attractive women earn about 4% more. One Newsweek survey of 202 HR professionals found that hiring managers ranked a candidate’s appearance as the third most important factor in hiring decisions, above formal education.
Despite how widespread it is, lookism has almost no legal protection in the U.S. Appearance is not a protected class under federal civil rights law, meaning there’s no equivalent of a race or gender discrimination claim someone can file for being treated poorly because of how they look. A handful of jurisdictions, like Washington D.C., San Francisco, and Michigan among them, have enacted local protections, but everywhere else, it largely exists in a legal gray area.
Cases can sometimes be brought under existing sex or race discrimination statutes if the appearance-based treatment can be tied to a protected characteristic, but on its own, being mistreated for your looks isn’t something federal law addresses.
@bigdylpcs Customer called me ugly at my job Best Buy #pcsetup #techtok #pc #bestbuy #pcgaming ♬ original sound – bigdylpcs
Viewers offer advice and words of encouragement
“Low fade haircut, thin frame glasses and clean beard. Thank me later Fam,” a top comment suggested.
“I know the comments are focused on telling you you’re not ugly, but I’ll focus on something else you said. ‘Why people treat me this way?’ Simply, they’re not good people. There are people in this world who have ugly spirits and are hateful and unhappy. We can’t change them, so don’t let them change you,” a person said.
“You’re literally not ugly,” another wrote.
“Far from ugly. Beautiful skin and teeth. Got all ya hair….you got a JOB! Baby, you winning!” a commenter added.
The Mary Sue reached out to Dylan for comment via TikTok direct message and comment.
Have a tip we should know? [email protected]
