Quote from: MaxAloysius on June 19, 2011, 06:05:05 AM
Our staff have actually had to change their 'leading questions' we're all taught to ask, as well as learn not to assume anything. When I first started working there, you would ask 'are you looking for something for a boy or a girl?' to which we would show them the specifically male/female toys. That question has now been elliminated entirely, because it's no longer relevant, and just ended up making us look stupid when a customer said 'Actually, she hates pink. Do you have any ant farms?'
Ironically, I also work for a toy company. The largest chain toy company in the world. Just bragging, haha. I specifically work in Electronics, and "Action Toys". Everyone knows how in stores, things are divided by sections. What was once "Girl's Toys" is now labeled "Dolls" by company policy, and "Boys" as "Action Toys". This has always been the case, since I started working there 2 and half years ago. The change is happening, ever so slowly. It's now beginning to be more and more okay to be anything you want to be, not the things specifically "designed" to be for "you". Girls no longer have to be like their mother's who have to stay at home and cook and clean because that's what "women" do.
I once had a middle aged man come in. I asked him, "Are you shopping for a boy or a girl?" and he was like "My son, he's gonna be 3 later this year. But I wanted to pick something up for him." I was going to proceed to ask "Well, what does he like?" to better know what sort of things to look for. Because being a boy or girl doesn't really narrow down the options enough, it's just a nice question to get a guest talking. But the man continued, "Well, I was wondering if you guys had plastic cook sets. Cause you see, I'm a chef. My son has been getting in the kitchen and messing with the pans and trying to cook like dad." He proceeded to show me a picture of his son. He was so proud and thrilled that his son wanted to cook like daddy, to be like dad. It was the sweetest thing I've encountered to this day.
I felt bad when the man felt a little disturbed when all of the plastic, fake cooking things were up in the pink coded aisles meant for "Girls" more accurately, "Dolls". But most people associated the pink with girls before they think dolls. Even myself. He even made a comment about finding something gender neutral so that it wasn't pink accented pots and pans. Thankfully, we do carry that sort of thing as well. But I found it so... nice.
I've seen girls look for wrestlers, a woman calling looking for figures for her 8 year old daughter that loves wrestling, a boy look for a electronic cool puppy, or a girl doll to put with his army men so they can have a wife.
You see how the world is changing when you see the little kids come into the store, and you help them find those toys they're interested in.
