I had a customer highly upset that someone in the Branch asked, “Where are you from?” The customer was upset since she is of mixed race, and thought it was inappropriate for anyone to ask her that question. After speaking to the customer and speaking to the staff member, I contacted the customer back and let her know what the employee was really asking–was she from Howard County or from another County (wanted to know where people were coming from for her class), not asking about her race. I also shared with the customer I am too of mixed race, and I wanted to make sure she still felt comfortable coming into the Branch. By the end of the second conversation, she was laughing and understood what we were really asking, and it was an eye-opening experience for me as well as my staff on how what we say can be grossly misinterpreted!
