Complaining about the Rain in Spain

So I had an awkward conversation with a bank teller this afternoon. I've written a complaint letter about it, but unfortunately their internal complaints messaging system won't accept it because it's TOO BIG! How ironic. Why ironic, You ask? Well I've copied and pasted the letter here, so until it actually gets through to the bank you can all read and share. I really encourage you, if you've ever experienced stuff like this, to COMPLAIN!! Feel free to copy and paste mine if you need some inspiration. If we never say complain(and over all my adult years, I have never complained or answered back to personal comments on my 'curves', pregnant or otherwise), how will they know that it needs to change? So, thus:

To whom it may concern,

I wish to lay a complaint against an incident which occurred yesterday at about 2pm at the *** Branch of ***, which left me feeling awkward and embarrassed.

When I went to deposit a large sum of money, I was greeted by a pleasant young woman, whose name I unfortunately cannot remember but it was similar to *** or something thereabouts. After asking how my day was going, she pointed at my stomach and asked "Are you pregnant?" In fact I am pregnant, but in rather early stages, so awkwardly confirmed that I was. She then offered her opinion that I must be due "very soon", to which I had to reply(in even more embarrassment): "September". I hoped the conversation would stop there, but incredibly she continued, in obvious surprise "But that's still 5 months away!"(after visibly counting how long it was). I was highly embarrassed and simply wished the conversation over, so muttered a confirmation, and left once my deposit was complete.

This incident left me rather mortified and after thinking it through I decided to make this complaint.

1) The bank teller should NEVER have asked if I was pregnant. This is always, always an inappropriate question to any women, and though this time I was, I have in the past been asked the same question when I have not been. The damage this does to a woman's self-esteem is obvious. I was pregnant this time, but in any other circumstances, I may have been merely round-figured, suffering from an abdominal complaint, or indeed recovering from a birth or lost pregnancy.

2) The bank teller should NOT have commented on the appearance of my pregnancy, that I might be due very soon. Even when pregnant, women are sadly still conscious of their figure, and to draw attention to a larger size belly than expected takes away some of the innocent joy of a pregnancy, replacing it with doubt and insecurity about her figure.

3) The bank teller, when surprised to learn how far away my baby's birth was, should have kept her shock and surprise to HERSELF, instead of commenting on the obvious fact loudly.

This experience has left me feeling uncomfortable about my body image, and insecure about my growing belly, instead of joyful.

While I do not complain formally about similar things usually, this incident is too close to my heart to let go. As a woman, I believe we have the right to be any body-shape that we wish to be, free from public comment and the often hidden(though sometimes spoken) condemnation that this brings with it. I find it unbelievable that we as women are the worst and loudest critics of each other, and that had I met with a male bank teller, he would have never dreamed of commenting on my belly, and perhaps wouldn't have noticed it at all!

I don't wish to cause distress to this bank teller in person, but I do hope that she perhaps have some training in general manners, and that all of those in customer service can once again be reminded of their duty to remain objective, polite and kind to any customer, rather than outspoken and nosy.

Regards

Rachel Osborne, 28(loyal *** customer since the age of 11)

So there you have it, my first complaint letter. Have you ever stood up to someone who's criticized or commented rudely about your perfect body?