Good morning All. Coffees on.

[Mmindy]

On 6/1/2022 at 5:06 PM, JustineM said:

The best news of all, the first day of Pride month also marks 365 glorious days of being ME! I’ll have to post a comparison picture a little later. 

That's great Justine,

Have a wonderful weekend.

 

Mindy

[CD Rachel]

 

Hi everyone and Happy Friday!!

 

So I am now out to all my immediate family. Seems like the one who took it the hardest was my sister. She says she will do he best to support me but she was crying while she said it. I felt awful. I am not doing this to cause anyone pain. I just am trying to find my Blue bird of Happiness.  I never did get a chance to tell my son. After seeing him on Memorial day I planned on calling him this past Thursday to tell him. It seems he beat me to it. He called my ex and asked what was going on. When she tried to play coy with him he began listing various anomalies that he noticed and how strangle out of character I was on Memorial day.  He then told her that he thinks that I am transitioning to which my wife finally admitted that I was. She told me she told him about Rachel and how she and my daughter both like Rachel. So, I texted my son today to gauge how he is feeling and asked if he wanted to talk about it. His reply was we will talk about it eventually but in the mean while he said "I just want you to now that I support you and just want you to be happy." 

 

I guess I am a lucky girl to have that kind of support from family. I can only hope that it continues. 

 

Rachel

[Marcie Jensen]

Gotta share this. I hate to complain, and apologize to everyone beforehand. 

So, this happened to me today. I was shopping in Macy's for a semi-formal dress and was nicely dressed, wearing makeup and hells. No mistaking me for a guy or in guy mode. I asked a sales associate for assistance (I wanted to get a key to the dressing room, and was bluntly told "no." She was standing under an LGBTQ+ support sign at the time. I immediately went to another associate and demanded to speak to the store manager immediately. When he arrived, I told him what happened, placed teh $200 dress I was holding in his hand and told him he had lost a sale. He tried to apologize, but misgendered me. I corrected him, showed my driver's license as proof (yes I was HOT!!!) and he called me "sir" a second time. The DL clearly lists my gender as female. I walked out at that point and emailed Macy's corporate. The total hypocrisy was what was worst--I mean, standing under an LGBTQ+ sign and telling a customer no during Pride minth!

 

Pretty much over it now, but needed to share.

[Mmindy]

3 minutes ago, Marcie Jensen said:

Pretty much over it now, but needed to share.

Marcie,

 

I'm sorry you experienced this kind of treatment. It's completely hypocritical of them to not carry out to advertised policies their company boasts about. When you do find that dress you're looking for. Be sure to do the Julia Robert "Pretty Woman" routine and remind them of the sales commission they missed out on. I love that movie, and could watch it over, and over, and over. Oh wait... I do watch it a lot.

 

Hugs,

 

Mindy 

[Marcie Jensen]

Mindy,

Great idea! I hadn't thought of that. I love Pretty Woman, too. It's my favorite Julia Roberts movie, and I WILL go back and rub their noses in it! 

[Mmindy]

6 minutes ago, Marcie Jensen said:

I WILL go back and rub their noses in it! 

Woot woot arm pump...

 

 

[rachel w]

Hi Marcie    that is totally  not right .and pretty foolish on there part.

[rachel w]

On a good note I start HRT today, had my first electroless done yesterday. So far when i have ben in stores they have treated me really nice every one have a good day.

[Guest]

One of the problems that the retail stores are having is that they are losing customers by the droves. The stores have a hard time finding decent people to work. The other issue we my come up against is that with the current level of anti-trans activity by the Republican Party's propaganda network (Fox News) is that there are people that will get influenced and feel protected because of the anti-trans legislation and rhetoric. Unless things turn around, there is a juggernaut campaign to keep jumping on the wedge issues that the Republicans can use against the Democrats. 

 

I am bracing for a nasty run of about 6 years starting in January after the mid-terms. I suspect there will be attempts to rollback our hard-earned protections and insurance coverages. I also suspect that a number of us will relocate to safer more accepting areas. The saddest part is that I have had virtually nobody give me a hard time in traveling between several conservative states. Of course, I have barred myself from travel through Oklahoma. 

 

Sadly nobody has challenged these politicians as to why transgender issues are the number 1 priority in a number of states and nationally. Do we have some secret power or knowledge that they are worried about? 

 

As for Macy's, I have never went there for so much as a piece of lint. I always found them to be condescending no matter what. Now I have been to a Dillards. What a difference. Last year I had went to a mall in the Charlotte, NC area to get my ears pierced. I inadvertently dropped my wallet out of my shoulder bag when I was walking through the mall. I wound up leaving the mall. When I got to my second location, I realized that I had lost my wallet. I called the mall and talked with security. Nobody had found it. I was worried as I had all my ID and recently I had put my social security card in the wallet as I had to present my card for some I-9 forms. Well, mall security did not have the wallet. I went back to the mall and retraced my steps. I could not find the wallet. I finally realized that I had went through Dillards to get into and out of the mall. I went up to the office area of the store. They had found my wallet and locked it in their safe. Nothing was touched. Not a dime was missing.

 

I was still early in my transition, but they were incredibly kind and supportive. I try to give my business to Dillards. I have also been to Kohls where I have not had any issues. Old Navy is very good as well. There will still be imbeciles no matter where we go. The sad part with these people who hate is that many of them are older. The newer generations are more aware and more accepting. Down the road when these aging conservatives need care, they are likely to run into one of my former RN students, former NP students, or a young aid working at a nursing home who may be LGBTQiA+. I wonder how it will go for these conservatives who are mean to us now. 

 

Sincerely

Katie

[KathyLauren]

9 hours ago, Marcie Jensen said:

Pretty much over it now, but needed to share.

 

Marcie, I am sorry to hear that happened to you.  The ignorance is offensive but common enough.  The hypocrisy of doing it under a pride poster is inexcusable.

 

Definitely report the incident to Macy's corporate HQ.  I would also report it to your city's Pride coordinators.  We all know about corporations exploiting Pride as a marketing opportunity, but that was over the top.

 

9 hours ago, Mmindy said:

Woot woot arm pump...

 

 

Thanks for posting that clip!  It has been years since I saw that movie.  I had totally forgotten about it.

[Mmindy]

6 hours ago, rachel w said:

On a good note I start HRT today, had my first electrolysis done yesterday.

That's great news @rachel w

 

Congratulations,

 

Mindy

[Mmindy]

3 hours ago, KathyLauren said:

Thanks for posting that clip!

Good morning Kathy,

 

I hope you have a great weekend.

 

Mindy

[Hannah Renee]

Finished my first week of my first job in just over 2 years. The dead name issue is, so far, a non-issue. Everything is just so normal. Just the new woman at work. Hannah. She. Her. 

 

I've been so apprehensive about spring and being more visible as my "new" self, and now with the job. Everything is so normal. It's as if this has always been me. Oh, wait...

[Mmindy]

5 minutes ago, Hannah Renee said:

Oh, wait...

Good morning Hannah,

 

Waiting for the follow up to the Oh, wait...?

 

I hope it's a good and positive thing.

 

Mindy

[Marcie Jensen]

Thanks to everyone for your support. I really appreciate it.

 

@MmindyLoved the clip! Thanks.

 

Here's an update regarding Macy's. First, there is no way to report the incident to them online. They have no dedicated email for complaints, and their online chat app dead ends--every time one tries to use it, it goes to a "this site is not found" page. Calling the 800 number they do have resulted in a 10 minute hold, followed by an utterly indifferent representative, and an    unfriendly supervisor. Got the incident reported though.

 

And @Katie23I went to Macy's AFTER having gone to Nordstrom, Dillard's and JC Penney. In Penneys and Nordstrom, they had nothing that fit and/or no sales help. At Dillard's the salesperson ignored me until I spoke up and was unhelpful. I finally found an acceptable dress at a Torrid in an outlet mall. TBH, at present I really don't see much difference between any of the major retailers except that Macy's was harsher. The saleslady at Macy's was wearing some sort of long service pin on her name tag, so it appears tome that she was not new. By contrast, the salesperson at the Torrid I went to was not only very nice and supportive, she gave me a business card, thanked me and told me I was welcome back at any time. She even suggested a private fitting for undergarments and made me try on the dress before purchase, making sure it fit properly.  Glad you had a good experience at Dillard's but, sadly, mine was not so good. I suspect that it all hinges on the attitude of the store manager.

 

Again, thanks everyone for the support.

Hugs,

Marcie

[Hannah Renee]

Oh, wait...this really has always been me, and I just didn't know it. Gentle tears as I type this. 

[Marcie Jensen]

15 minutes ago, Hannah Renee said:

Finished my first week of my first job in just over 2 years. The dead name issue is, so far, a non-issue. Everything is just so normal. Just the new woman at work. Hannah. She. Her. 

 

I've been so apprehensive about spring and being more visible as my "new" self, and now with the job. Everything is so normal. It's as if this has always been me. Oh, wait...

Hannah, I am so happy for you! It sounds like all is coming together in a good way. You rock!

[Mmindy]

5 minutes ago, Marcie Jensen said:

Again, thanks everyone for the support.

Good afternoon Marcie,

 

I'm glad you found a place to serve your needs for a nice place to do your clothing shopping.

 

Mindy

[Mmindy]

7 minutes ago, Hannah Renee said:

Gentle tears as I type this.

Happy you're finding your true self.

 

Hugs,

 

Mindy

[Heather Nicole]

@Marcie Jensen Sorry about that experience. I suspect that store may already be spiraling, and they likely know it. I've found that every single store, big or small, where I've ever encountered particularly bad customer service ended up out of business within a few years or so. It's a vicious cycle: Bad customer service drives customers away. That hurts the bottom line. The employees and managers notice things aren't going well, so they both stop caring, leading to worse working conditions and even more abysmal customer service, which drives more customers away. Then it all goes belly-up. And with online competition these days, that's something the brick and mortar stores really can't afford to mess around with, more so now than ever. Heck, the only Macy's out near me already shut down a few years ago.

 

Don't forget to leave a review in Google Maps!

 

[Marcie Jensen]

29 minutes ago, Heather Nicole said:

@Marcie Jensen Sorry about that experience. I suspect that store may already be spiraling, and they likely know it. I've found that every single store, big or small, where I've ever encountered particularly bad customer service ended up out of business within a few years or so. It's a vicious cycle: Bad customer service drives customers away. That hurts the bottom line. The employees and managers notice things aren't going well, so they both stop caring, leading to worse working conditions and even more abysmal customer service, which drives more customers away. Then it all goes belly-up. And with online competition these days, that's something the brick and mortar stores really can't afford to mess around with, more so now than ever. Heck, the only Macy's out near me already shut down a few years ago.

 

Don't forget to leave a review in Google Maps!

 

Thanks Heather Nicole. The support helps. Frankly, I was more angry than anything else about what happened. I also think you're correct in your assessment of the situation at that store. I will leave a review in Google maps. Had not thought of that one.

 

And, yes, online shopping is killing brick and mortar stores of all types. The pandemic did not help brick and mortar stores either. I don't know about anyone else, but most of my shopping is online these day, with the exception of groceries. I admit, I stil like to pick out produce, meat and dairy in person.

[Willow]

Hi shoppers

 

I would like to add a store to the good list, Belk.  Now, Belk is not your class A store.  However I’ve been to several different one and in different cities. I’ve never been mistreated.  Never denied any service.  However, currently Belk is operating under an austerity program so it is not only difficult (but not impossible) to get help, but it’s hard to find an open dressing room (using Covid as the reason) and or an open register.

 

Willow

[Guest]

Belk's has been around a long time. It is a shame they have come across hard times. Belk's has a foundation as well.

https://www.belkfoundation.org/tbf-dei/

 

I found this interesting. I just wish most shoe stores had more sizes that fit us.

[RhondaS]

Good morning!

 

Yesterday was our town's 4th annual Pride flag raising and 1st ever Pride Fest. Mrs was instrumental starting the Pride group years ago and is the emcee for the flag bit. I volunteered to help at the fest, so was there bright and early in a Trans flag tee, performing womanual labor, setting up rainbow arches, etc.

 

Then the usual speeches for the flag raising, except this time Mrs said she wanted to do the actual raising with me. And some of the speeches actually got me choked up, older man talking about the closet, and young kid who got the local high school to ease their graduation gown gendering.

 

Before my later 'shift' at the Pride tent I stood in line for the Sephora people who were there giving people eye makeup, so got some over the top pink and blue eye makeup done. I came out to a few people who know me mostly thru Mrs, some still aren't in on it and talked about my 'rock star' hair. 

[Mmindy]

Good morning everyone,

 

Even on this very warm Sunday morning, coffee is still the drink of choice.

 

I hope everyone has a great day.

 

Mindy