People Share How Poorly They Were Treated Until It Was Discovered They Were Loaded

It’s no secret that people look at our physical appearance and then make presumptions about our status. Someone wearing stained sweat pants and a casual tee with flip-flops is going to be perceived as less wealthy than someone wearing a brand-new, designer outfit. That’s just how it goes. However, appearance doesn’t automatically correlate with wealth, but initially in our mind, we sometimes think that way.

Despite our presumptions, many wealthy and even famous individuals don’t like to flaunt their money with the latest styles, luxurious shoes and handbags, and expensive jewelry. Mark Zuckerberg, Shia LaBeouf, Kristen Stewart, Simon Cowell, and Kanye West are examples of celebrities who typically prefer casual, simple attire over flashy, avant-garde outfits. While these folks may look stunning on the red carpet, their looks can easily blend in with the “average” crowd when they go out for a cup of coffee or go grocery shopping.
There’s absolutely no harm in “dressing down” in comfy garments. But many would agree that there’s a time and a place for such. Stopping in a fast-food restaurant for a quick bite to eat? Casual is totally fine. Going to drop off your kiddos at school? Heck, pajamas will do.

Going to check the mailbox located right in front of your house? No need to lace up your nicest pair of shoes; just slip on a pair of old slippers. Better yet, go barefoot.

Casualwear, unfortunately, doesn’t always “work” everywhere we go. Eating at a five-star restaurant, taking part in an important business meeting, or attending a formal wedding aren’t moments where you usually want to be seen in your favorite, five-year-old tee-shirt that reads, “I can’t adult today,” or your overworn, smelly slip-on shoes.

A little cleaning up is in order.
While most of us probably don’t care (and shouldn’t really care) what others think about us and our fashion sense, the way we dress can leave an important first impression on clients, potential and current employers, and dates. And interestingly, in the following stories, people share the time when their attire or other aspects of their physical appearance landed them in a humiliating or straight-up brutal situation.

To add a twist to these stories, these people also share the moment when the person or people who put them down realized they were actually wealthy or had a high status, and as expected, they typically treated them much nicer after the fact. (Go figure.)
Before indulging in the following juicy stories, read part one first!

31. She Told Me To Get Out Of The Business Class Line

“This was in 2007; I was a young marketing professional working in a telecom company.

I got an invitation to join a seminar on instant messaging in Cairo, and I was very much delighted.

My company had a policy of providing business class tickets for flights exceeding 2 hours time, so my travel mates and I got the same.

On the day of our departure, I went to the airport dressed in very casual attire. I wore jeans, a t-shirt, and sports shoes.

There was a huge queue in the economy class boarding line, but the business class line was relatively small. My other two colleagues were in full business attire; they wore suits, ties and polished, formal shoes.
They were in front of me in the line, and I was at the back end. The lady in the counter suddenly spoke out; looking at no one in particular, but her gaze was towards me and the other few people standing in the line.

I could not believe the words I heard. She said, ‘Excuse me! This line is ONLY for business class passengers.’

It was clear as daylight that her jibe was towards me and the other guy in front of me. Both of us were wearing casuals. I didn’t pay heed to her; I just waited until my turn came. She kept on blabbering the same line and for a few more times.

At one point, she looked directly at me and said, ‘Only business class passengers will get a boarding pass from this line. Anyone else standing here is only wasting their time.’

She looked well educated. She was not pretty, but she had an attractive aura and was well-groomed. She looked well in the standard Emirates uniform. She had a thick, somewhat fake accent.

She had very, very fair skin.

So when I finally came in front of her, I literally shoved my business class ticket in front of her. She saw it and became very embarrassed. Her embarrassment was showing in her face; she got as red as a fresh tomato and stammered some unintelligible words.
I really wasn’t in a mood to apply salt on her wound, so I let it go.

After seeing that I genuinely held a business class ticket, her entire demeanor shifted. She gave me the boarding pass within lightning speed, asked me about my seating preferences and kept her gaze down the entire time.

I met her once more before boarding the aircraft. She blushed again.” Ishtiaque Khan

Another User Comments:

“Maybe she faced some passengers before who were rude when pointed out, and subconsciously she was indirectly telling you many times so that she could tell herself that she was doing a great help to you and herself (by avoiding the situation).

But as it was a business class line, she definitely should’ve been more polite and diplomatic.” Kalpak Gupta
30. She Refused To Make Me An Omelet, But Then She Saw Me Wearing A Nice Suit

“Couple of months back, I had to visit Nebraska, Omaha (US) for a business visit. I stayed in the downtown Hilton. I had landed there on a Saturday evening bone-tired and jet-lagged after a 30-hour trip from Bangalore.

Next day morning, I walked into their half-empty to the restaurant for breakfast. I was still jet-lagged, looking scruffy, wearing shorts and an old t-shirt and probably looked like a hitchhiker. Although there were only a few guests, none of the waiters paid any attention to me. After waving a few times and asking 2 – 3 times for a pot of coffee, a sullen-looking lady finally bought me coffee.

When I requested her if I could get an omelet, she pointed me at the omelet counter meaning I could go and get it myself. I decided to skip the omelet, finished my breakfast and left without leaving a tip.
Next day, I had a meeting, so I got fully dressed and walked into the restaurant for breakfast. I had shaved, looked fresh and was wearing a Hugo Boss suit.

The moment I seated myself, the lady who had completely ignored me the previous day glided by and gave that fake ‘how are you today’ greeting and asked whether I would like coffee and how did I want my omelet. This time I left a generous tip when I left.

I stayed there for 3 weeks, and for the next 3 weeks, I never had to ask the waiters for coffee or a 3-egg omelet.” Sandy Kotz
29. They Didn’t Realize He Had Over $3 Million In The Bank

“We grew up in what was a normal town that has since become a very wealthy town.

All of the old, cute (and some semi-historic) houses are being torn down and replaced by huge McMansions to the point where some homes are 5-10 times bigger than the homes next door (until those homes get torn down and replaced).

My dad grew up on the same plot of land where my parents raised us, and never took to the wealthier nature of the town.

He grew up during World War II and became very frugal as a result. He did all of the work on our home himself and would wear the same pants he painted in out in public. He sold off portions of our land that he didn’t need for what I now know were rather large sums of money.
He managed to squirrel away a tidy sum.

He didn’t believe in stocks or investments, so basically kept this amount in a savings account (!) not even realizing anything above $500K wasn’t insured.

One day, he asked me to take him to the bank to cash a check. He was wearing his pants covered in paint, a flannel shirt with paint stains on it, and shoes where the soles were practically falling off because he didn’t believe in ‘wasting money when his shoes were perfectly fine.’

I took him to the bank and the woman by the door turned us away and said, ‘I’m afraid you can’t come in here.’ My father DID NOT take this well and said, ‘What do you mean I can’t come in here? My account is here!’
The woman started flinging a lot of attitude, and my father said to tell the manager that he was going to move his money to another bank, and the woman said, rather snottily, ‘Well, I’m sure moving it won’t be a problem.’

She got his name, and my dad was so angry I said, ‘Let’s just go home, and we’ll call customer service,’ so we started walking away.

The manager of the bank came racing out after us and was practically on his knees begging my dad’s forgiveness. It turns out my dad had more than $3 million in the bank!

My dad has since passed on, but we still get good laughs about this story at our family reunions.” Anonymous
28. My Ex Changed Her Tune When She Realized I Owned The Restaurant

“My crush did; It was during my school days.

I actually was pretty broke back then. I had no car or motorcycle. I used to move around in public buses. Mum and dad were underpaid school teachers. I asked her if she would like to go out with me sometime. Long story short summary of response was, ‘You cannot afford me,’ which to be honest, was bitter truth. Fast forward 20 years, I own 8 fine dining restaurants in the same city.

One fine evening, she walks into one of my restaurants with her now-husband. I decided to serve them myself. Mind it, she has no idea I own the place. And this is one of the top-rated places in the city. She assumes that I work as a waiter. She places her order to me without saying any greetings. Now when the couple asked for the cheque I told her it was on the house; We are so delighted to have them here.

They leave happy knowing they won’t have to pay a penny.
Next week, they decided to visit the same restaurant. This time they saw me parking my Merc ML350 outside the restaurant (d*mn costly in my country) and the security guard saluting and opening the door form me. When I went to the table, they were seated for me to be their server again today.

This time she was very ‘excited’ to see me. Asked about my family and introduced me to her husband. She asked me about the restaurant; I told her I own the place.

The teased me that I have forgotten my friends as I have become a big man now. I smiled and ignored the statement. I gave her the menu and then it struck her it was not a coincidence that the restaurant was named ‘Minakshi’s kitchen.’ Could see the expression change on her face, and it was priceless.

Her name was Minakshi, so the restaurant was actually named after her.” Anonymous

27. I Was Trash To Her Until She Found Out I Was An Award-Winning Author

Thankfully, they walked away after she started suddenly acting fake-nice to them.

“It happened to me yesterday.

I was a guest author and panelist at a book festival. While I was hanging out in the green room with an author buddy, waiting to be escorted to our speaking panel, a woman walked up and began speaking to my friend.

I assumed she was joining our conversation, so I started to make polite chitchat. She looked at me like I was something unpleasant to be scraped off her shoe.
My friend stepped away to freshen his drink. As soon as he was out of earshot, the woman gave me a withering glare. “I don’t know you and I don’t want to know you.

Stop talking to me, okay?”

I nodded and didn’t say a word.

When my friend came back a couple of minutes later, the woman looked around the room and asked to be introduced to the award-winning author he’d been telling her about. The one with movie projects in the works and contacts in Hollywood.

My friend pointed to me. ‘Here’s the guy you want, and he’s a captive audience for the next ten minutes or so.

If you’ve got questions, now’s the time to ask.’
That woman did a complete Hyde-to-Jekyll transformation right before my eyes.

Suddenly, she was all smiles and friendliness. She’s an aspiring screenwriter looking to break in, and I had instantly become the most fascinating human being she’d ever met. She had a thousand questions.

I smiled at my friend, excused myself, and went outside to enjoy the breeze and wait for my escort.

Turns out that I wasn’t a captive audience after all.” Jeff Edwards

26. We Only Got Attention If We Dressed Nicely

This would make a great social experiment!

“Some years back, my then-wife and I traveled to London for a short break. We treated ourselves to a nice five-star hotel, and being long-time Seattle residents, had long since settled into the ‘Seattle casual’ dress code.

We were slightly disappointed in the quality of service at the hotel. Like many English things, particularly expensive products/services, it seemed that the staff working as paid employees of the hotel thought they were grander than their guests merely because they worked there every day, while we’d stay there only for a few days. (This is particularly noticeable if you fly First Class on BA, where the stuffy flight attendants, instead of fawning all over you for spending stupid amounts of money to fly in their first-class section, act as though they are doing you a personal favor by letting you into ‘their’ cabin.)
We laughed to ourselves at the dysfunctional snobbery of the English and thought little more of it.

Then one evening we were going to Covent Garden to see an opera or ballet. I forget what, but we allowed ourselves to conform to the unwritten dress code and expectations of attending a Covent Garden performance with inexpensive seats and broke out our ‘fancy’ clothes. An amazing thing happened.

We stepped out of the elevator into the hotel reception area, and it was like a spotlight was shining on us.

Staff stopped what they were doing, looked us in the eye, wished us a pleasant evening. A doorman leaped to the door and held it open for us, etc.
On our return at the end of the evening, the same happened in reverse. Doors held open, even someone rushing to press an elevator button for us, people welcoming us back.

The next morning, we were again dressed very casually for a day of being out and about in London, and we had again become invisible.

No-one looked up, no-one acknowledged our presence, and the doorman ignored us.

Want to become invisible? Dress down at an over-priced pretentious London hotel.” David Rowell

25. His Apple Store Experience Was An Interesting One

“I’m an entrepreneur and work most of the times from home when I’m not traveling. And as you know how men stay at home. A pair of shorts and a t-shirt for the whole summer is all we need.

When I’m in my home town, I usually stay and work in my room working almost 16-18 hours a day and get out of the room to hit the gym or go for a walk for about an hour or so, and I do it in very normal clothes.

Coming to the story, I had been using a very old laptop that I bought about 7 years ago.

It had become ridiculously slow and used to freeze every now and then. I had been thinking of buying a Macbook for a very long time. I just thought I’d go someday and ask about its features and decide later if I’d really buy a MacBook or a cheaper Windows laptop but never really got the time.
So that day, I was tired of working and sitting the whole day.

My mom needed some stuff from a market close to my place so I just went there to get it in very normal (un-ironed and not so flashy) clothes i.e. a t-shirt, shorts, and slippers.

On my way back, I saw a new Apple store that must’ve opened a few days ago. I didn’t even know there was an Apple store there.

So with a transparent polybag with 2 KGs of sugar in my hands, I went inside the store.

The guard looked at me for a few seconds (probably thinking if he should allow me to go in) and I greeted him saying, ‘Good evening,’ and he opened the door for me.
The whole staff was looking at me as if I was an alien.

They greeted me with shock, and I could understand they were thinking that I had actually come straight out of my sleep.

I requested one of the staff members to show me the Macbooks. Which they did but in a hurry as they thought I was just there for killing time and maybe because I was just another guy fascinated by a flashy store with expensive stuff.

I asked a lot of questions which somehow convinced the staff member that I knew about computers.

I asked If I could get some water and they told me that there’s a water cooler outside the shop, and I could have it there, to which I said ok.
I asked a few more questions, and once I was convinced, I told the staff member that I’d buy a Macbook Air right then and there only.

The staff member was quite shocked.

He went to the counter and talked to his colleagues and everyone seemed surprised.

I took out my wallet and asked if they accept cards, they said ‘yes’ and I handed over the card. They asked for my personal details for billing, and I gave them my visiting card. They seemed a little surprised when the guys saw the details.

Finally, they made the bill, started the laptop, gave me a demo, smiled and finally talked to me in a good way.
They packed the laptop and gave me the bill.

And yeah, they even got me a glass of water which I denied with a smile and walked out of the store with 2 KGs of sugar in my left hand and a brand new Macbook Air in the right one.” Arpit Sihra

24. She Suddenly Was Nice To Me After A $600 Transaction

“I was in a rugged shirt, some cheap $15 shorts, conventional flip-flops, and a Ferrari cap when I decided to enter a fragrance shop at a high-end store in NYC.

The girl at the counter asked me what was I looking for and before I could even answer, she started showing me CK, Guess, Davidoff perfumes. She probably thought I was just there to take some free smells. I think her best perfume was Armani Code, and when I told her that I didn’t like it, she pretty much gave up on me and said that’s all they had.

After she had left, I was looking around on my own when another sales guy came up to me and asked me what was I looking for. I asked, ‘Do you guys keep Tom Ford?’ At this point, the previous sales girl overheard the conversation, and she came up to me to let me know that it was a very expensive perfume, and I may not be able to afford it.

I thanked her for her advice and asked her to bring me ‘Azure Lime’ smell. She added that it would cost around $300 + taxes. Upon hearing that, I asked her with a shocked face, ‘Did TF reduce their prices? Last time I remember, it was going for almost $600.’ She said, ‘No, the big bottle is for $600.’ I immediately said, ‘I need the big bottle.’
At this point, she must have even placed a bet with 10 other colleagues that my card would decline or else I may be a pick-pocketer.

At the payment terminal, just when I was about to swipe the card, she asked me for my ID. As I was trying to pull out my driver’s license,  she saw my student ID clipped on the other side that said, ‘Harvard University.’ I think that was a final nail in the coffin, and she didn’t even ask me for the ID afterward.

Maybe, she thought I was successful in life, although I am still light years away from it. Not only that, but she turned nice enough to give me these samples of very expensive and exclusive perfumes; however, I never went back there.” Bhavani Shekhawat
Another User Comments:

“To me, it’s a psychological trick often used by extremely good salespersons especially at high-end brands.

Normally successful personalities don’t like being challenged… When a salesperson indiscreetly tells you that you can’t afford it, you want to buy it even more desperately just to prove a point.” Ravi Yadav

23. Me Asking For The Price Meant I “Couldn’t Afford It”

“I don’t consider myself as wealthy as many, but I do fine. This was my most surprising experience.

I lived in a very high net worth town in Connecticut, at the time and was pricing items out to renovate the master bathroom.

I don’t tend to dress like women in my area – I wear jeans & a t-shirt almost 24/7 along with a pair of sneakers.
I went into one of the shops and asked about a specific soaking tub I saw on the showroom floor…and when I asked the price? The woman smiled almost laughing and said demeaningly, ‘Well, you know what they say…if you have to ask…’ and her voice trailed off, and she walked away… (the rest of that saying is that ‘you likely can’t afford it’).

She said this in front of other people shopping in the store as well. I was livid.

I went to the counter and asked to speak with a manager, and told her of how her employee treated (potential) customers. The manager asked for my address to send me something for my trouble (it would turn out to be a very nice aromatic oil holder and aromatic oils for the bathroom)… When I gave it to her, she asked if I was ‘shopping for myself.’  Yes, I said (I was not a personal assistant or shopping for my boss)… Again, sort of demeaning, but at least she knew that I actually owned the place I was shopping for.

My zip code at the time reflected one of the towns with the highest net worth in CT, and I lived on a road shared by some well-known people.

I had since gone into the store to browse with my spouse and show her items, and the manager had recognized me immediately and offered something to drink.

I never bought anything there, and I never took her up on her drink offer.

My mother often cleaned houses to make ends meet when I was growing up. Anyone who treats people poorly based on income (or income assumption) really irritates me. I’ve seen it too many times to support it with a purchase.” Jule Gurner
22. They Kept Turning Me Down Until I Became More Successful

“Sadly, this happened to me when I first opened a branch office in the UK for our travel company, several years ago.

I’m not particularly wealthy, but I run a successful travel company in South Africa selling African safaris, and a fair percentage of our clients are from the UK. Since I have EU citizenship, and I’ve lived and worked in the UK before, I decided some years ago to open a branch office in the UK to service our UK client base.

Flew across with all my documents, registered a company and headed to the nearest bank to try and open a bank account. No joy. The minute I mentioned I am not resident in the UK, I would hit the wall: ‘I’m terribly sorry, but we can’t assist you if you don’t reside in Britain. Next customer please!’ I got turned down by 5 banks in the space of 2 days.

At one point, I actually asked someone, if they don’t open accounts for a local branch of an international company, why did they open an account for Google when they first opened an office in the UK? ‘I think you know the answer to that,’ was her eventual reply. Exactly. Money. If you have money, you can get anything done. All the rules will suddenly disappear.

If you don’t have money or look like you don’t have money, you get treated like something the dog brought in from outside.

After I finally managed to open a bank account, I tried getting a credit card merchant facilities. No joy. ‘I’m terribly sorry, but we don’t extend facilities to travel companies. It is considered a high-risk category.’ And they would not accept my proof of residence in South Africa because it was not a British utility bill.

Hello??
Tried getting the necessary insurance and industry memberships. A royal pain. Never been treated so badly and coldly as those first few weeks in London. Several insurance companies turned us down flat, others just tried to rip us off with premiums that amounted to daylight robbery.

In every single case, once they heard about the success and long track record of the parent company in South Africa and saw our latest accounts, there was an instant and noticeable difference in attitude.

‘Do come inside, sir. Would you like some tea, perhaps?’ That kind of thing. Makes me sick that people perceived to have wealth or success get treated so differently to poor people.
Perhaps it is better to wear a suit and tie when you go and visit the bank. Seems to be the done thing in London. But I prefer to dress how I like to dress, which is neat but casual.

If that means getting treated differently at first, so be it. Shows me something about that person/bank.

Learn to treat everybody the same, regardless of their station in life.

Thomas Carlyle – ‘A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little men.'” Onne Vegter

21. Being Introduced As The Boss’s Son Made Me More Admirable

Sad that in some people’s eyes, you’re unimportant unless you have a valuable title.

“About 5 years ago, I just came to Bangkok from America where my family business was. My parents asked me to start learning and hope to pass over to me later as they are going to retire soon.

Although I could speak the local language, I didn’t really know much about the job (just started learning) as I’ve been doing freelance in other fields.

One day, we had a visit from some ministry authorities to have a meeting about some new warehouse regulations. Usually, the meeting consisted had our operation and QC manager involved. Since I was new there, my parents wanted me to learn more about it and told me to sit in and just listen.
Our operation and QC manager did not introduce me as ‘the boss’s son.’ This was intended by my parents, as they want me to be more professional in the eyes of the company employees.

I did not even hand them my business card either, as I thought I would not be dealing with them after this meeting anyway.

I stayed quiet throughout the meeting. At one point, one of the ladies wanted to hear more from this quiet young guy who was just sitting at the end of the table and decided to ask me about what I do here.

When the lady noticed I didn’t really know much about this operation, she decided to push further with more questions and comments like, ‘You’ve been working here, and you don’t even know?’ or ‘Oh, you don’t usually work in this department, then what do you do here? If this isn’t your responsibility, why are you even in this meeting?’ said with a harsh and harassing tone of voice.

Then it happened when the boss (my mom) arrived, and the operation manager introduced her to them. Right at the moment, they realized who I really was (when both the managers bowed while only I didn’t).

As the meeting went on, their attitudes changed. They addressed me much more politely and did not ask any aggressive questions. They started telling me how the operations work, and they said they understand how difficult it is to take up a big burden and that they admired children that want to help their parents, a lot of flattery ******** you can think of.

But honestly, it taught me that I should be more prepared and to not embarrass my parents and show to others that I am ready for the big jobs ahead.” Por Phoenix
20. The Hot Blonde Wanted Nothing To Do With Me Until She Realized I Had Money

“The answer is, Yes, of course, this has happened.’

Admittedly, it’s rare because of two factors.

First, as a relatively well-put-together white man, I don’t run into these sorts of situations often. Second, I don’t really value the ‘stuff’ that money buys (nice clothes, nice cars, etc), so my appearance is just ok, rather than polished or trendy. Instead, I spend what some people would consider to be stupid amounts of money on dining out and travel… but I also sock away about 20% of my income in investments, etc.

There is one very memorable instance in which this happened. The first was about three or four years ago when I went to the bar to watch Monday Night Football. I was only 23 at the time, and I wore my Ravens jersey because that’s what you do when your team is playing. Suffice to say, I didn’t look particularly well off, but I attempted to chat with a very attractive 20-something blonde woman while I was waiting for the game to start/my friends to show up.

I might as well have been invisible to her, so I went back to my drink.
A few minutes later my buddies showed up, and I’m rocking/rolling/high fiving, and just generally getting the bar-hopping for the Ravens game (i.e., causing a scene, because I could). One of my buddies was my coworker, and we started talking about a deal we were working on… it was for about $80 million, plus another $10 million in renovations.

Mind you, we weren’t doing this to show off… but we WERE drinking and talking at volume, so I wouldn’t be surprised if a fair number of people heard some details of what we were working on.

A little later in the evening, there’s a tug on my arm – you guessed it, it was that blonde with whom I was trying to chat earlier.

It felt fake, forced, status-seeking… and quite frankly, as someone who was lucky enough to grow up in a wealthy family, money doesn’t impress me, so people who pursue money for money’s sake strike me as short-sighted.
In short, it is a funny story… but I definitely felt a little bit slimy while it was going on.” Brendan Majev

19. I Went There To Buy A Dress, But She Thought I Was Going To Rob The Place

“30 years ago, I had a girlfriend that was a baroness from France.

She had a part-time job at the Harrods store in London’s Knightsbridge as her mother would not give her enough money to let her live in the style to which she would wish to become accustomed! She saw a dress in a shop opposite the store that she liked in a sale and put a deposit on it. The cost of this dress was the whole week’s wages.

I had a large telephone bill but was short of cash ’til the end of the month, so I said to her, ‘You give me the cash from your wages, and I will pay for the dress with my American Express card and pay the card off at end of the month.’
At that time, I had big BMW motorbike leather jacket, dark glasses, and long hair (all gone now, including the hair).

Parked on the footpath outside the shop. We knew the sort of reaction I would get if I went into the store, and it all added to the fun. She was immaculately dressed in designer clothes, the sort of person that shopped in these stores. She went in first and me about one minute later looking around looking as if I was going to rob the place! She went to the counter to get the dress as the girl assistant put it on the counter.

I said to my friend as if I did not know her, ‘That’s a nice dress. I can buy it for you if you like.’ She looked at me and said, ‘Ok, if you want to,’ or something like that. I took out the American Express card and gave it to the assistant while looking at the price tag on the dress.

The counter girl and other staff looked shocked. They did a security check on the card. I signed the card slip and gave her the dress.

I said, ‘Would you like to come for a ride on my bike?’ She replied. ‘Yes.’ We left the shop, and the look on the assistant’s faces was indescribable as we rode away.” Ron Angel

18. Women Didn’t Talk To Me Until I Talked About My Millions

A little word of advice: If you flaunt your money, you’ll attract people who want your money, not the true you.

Just sayin’!

“Most women I’ve come across socially (except when I was fit).
The most recent example was an outing in London with the board of directors of one of my companies. We’re all fat old men looking especially bad after a day at the accountants. We sit next to a table of attractive young women. They begin by giving us disgusted looks.

We start talking and the conversation turns to what we’re going to do with the millions we’ve accidentally accrued in cash: should we aim for an acquisition or plow it back in by hiring more aggressively? Lo and behold, the attractive young women try to join our table for dinner, uninvited.
To this day I find the shamelessness of most women quite shocking.

I am unable to reconcile men being accused of treating women like pieces of meat with many women treating men like workhorses. Why is nobody talking about this?” Jon Harrop

17. The Dealership Treated Me Like I Didn’t Belong

“I’m not incredibly wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, but I have very little debt, I own my own home and at various times I have had anywhere from $100k+ sitting in my bank account.

I often dress in jeans, t-shirts or shorts. I simply cannot be bothered dressing up unless I have to, or if I want to.
Added to that I’m from an ethnic group that in Australia has historically been subject to racism and condescension from the dominant white anglo Saxon culture. People almost always assume that I’m poor and/or uneducated and I often find that people underestimate my skills and abilities or my command of the English language.

Sometimes I deliberately dress down and walk into expensive stores just to see how people treat me, confident in the knowledge that if I wanted to, I could probably buy anything in their store or sometimes most of their floor stock.

A couple of years ago, I bought a nearly new car, a Mazda 6. It’s not a really expensive car by any means, but it’s no 20-year-old rust-bucket either.

The car was perfect for my transport needs. The vehicle needed its first servicing so I took it to a Mazda dealer, simply because the dealership was close to my home. I had to drop the car off but I had no way of getting back home on the day as no loan cars were available. Instead, I decided to put my mountain bike in the back of the car, drop the car off in the morning, ride the 5km home then ride 5km back to the dealer in the afternoon to pick it up.

In the afternoon, I rode back and locked my bike near the front of the Mazda dealership. When I walked into the reception area with my small backpack and bike helmet the sales rep treated me most rudely and discourteously. He more or less looked me up and down, spoke to me curtly as if to say, ‘Who do you think you are looking like that coming into our nice Mazda showroom?’ (That wasn’t what he said of course, but his attitude, body language and tone of voice said that.)

As soon I said, ‘Look, I’m just here to pick up my Mazda 6,’ my word, did his attitude change! He was practically falling over himself in his attempt to be polite to me.

He knew he messed up. But I never returned to that dealership, and I never will.” Anonymous
16. Once I Showed Up In My Porsche, They Were Kinder To Me

The power of the Porsche!

“In Minneapolis, after I graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1971 (11 years late), a bank advertised a ‘club’ they had for people with large deposits. I saw it as a silly snob-appeal thing and decided to have some fun with it.

My deposit was large enough to qualify so I got a membership card.

One afternoon, while roughly dressed, I rode my somewhat beat-up bicycle to the bank club and asked where I should park it. The attendant wasn’t very friendly, but when I told him that I was a club member, he pointed to where I could chain my bike to the fence.

After chaining my bike to the fence, I walked up to the club. The receptionist, with a somewhat icy look, told me that I had to be a member of the club to enter. She seemed startled when I told her that I was a member of the club and showed her my membership card.

A few days later, while wearing a nice suit and tie, I drove my 1971 Porsche 914 to the club.

Actually, it was not an expensive car and cost far less than other Porsches, but most people didn’t know that. In fact, I often told people what it actually cost because I eschew status symbols and did not want the car to be seen as a status symbol. Anyway, the parking lot attendant was very friendly and helpful; he told me where I could park the car.

The club receptionist was not the same one as before. She greeted me very warmly.
Actually, the people who are impressed with status symbols are not the sort of people whom I would be interested in impressing. I’m more interested in people’s character than how wealthy they are.” Frank Eggers

15. She Gave Me A Snobby Attitude, So I Rung Up With A Different Salesperson

“One incident comes to mind from many years ago.

One expensive thing I wanted for myself was a nice purse, specifically a Coach purse. I really liked the brand, even though it had been a distance-seeing a catalog or seeing the purses in a window. I didn’t want one because it was pricey, just because I really, really liked them.
A relative of mine had passed away and left me some money (no, I wasn’t suddenly wealthy, just not struggling all the time.) After a while, I thought I might actually buy a Coach purse-The Saddle Bag; I think they were $200 at that time.

So, I finally went to the Coach store. Walked in. The salesperson quickly looked me up and down. I said, ‘Hello, I’m interested in the Saddle Bag purses.’ ‘They’re over there,’ she said and attended immediately to two other people who came in after me.

I was in sales prior and knew she had dismissed me in her mind as a viable sale.

In fairness, my attire may have given her a certain impression. I had been fixing my car that morning-still wearing work boots, and sort of a mechanic’s outfit with a few grease stains (but my hands and face were clean).
Picked out the one I always wanted (thrill!) and deliberately went to the other salesperson to ring me up. The initial salesperson rushed over for the transaction (I suspected they were on commission on some level), but I wasn’t to give that person credit for being snippy.

Anyway, I don’t mean to bash on Coach; it was just one salesperson. The other times I’ve ever been in there they’ve been very professional.” Chris Cu

14. He Suddenly “Remembered” That He Had Rental Properties Available

“Back in 1994, I was an undercover narcotics detective. I was doing OK financially as I had a fledgling IT company I had started on the side.

Of course, based on my current assignment, I tended to wear old jeans and sneakers, t-shirts and usually an old hoody. I also had an AWESOME mullet and a beard.
We had just sold our home, and I was looking for an apartment temporarily. I ran into a well know real estate office located in the municipality I was a police officer in.

I approached the owner (who didn’t recognize me) and asked him if he had any rentals available. With a glance, he blew me off and said he had nothing available. At first, I figured he was just busy. He had a reputation for being an a*s, so I didn’t think much about it at first.

I handed him my business card, identifying me as a police detective, and asked him to let me know if anything came up.

He just nodded and dismissed it. As I was going out the door I noticed him picking up the card. I then see him watch me get into my wife’s nice new Volvo Wagon. Next thing I know, I have him running out the door waiving me down, and telling me how he had ‘just forgotten’ about a few rentals he had available and to come back in the office.

I was so mad, I almost lost it. But I just gritted my teeth and said, ‘I’m all set’ without even looking at him, and told my wife to drive.

Epilogue: I went down the road to the next realtor and rented a house from her. A short time later, I bought a property from her. It’s years later and I’m no longer a police officer.

I am CEO of a pretty successful tech company and do OK. OK enough to own several properties. I have residential, commercial, rental, etc. I can tell you one thing for certain… not one of them was sold to me by that first company!!!
These days when I’m not at work, I dress pretty much the same as I did when I was undercover.

I like to be comfortable and I ride and work on motorcycles a lot in my time off, so I don’t dress up unless there is a reason.

I don’t get mad anymore if some a*s looks down their nose at me when I go into a store or business. Now I just laugh at them and spend my money elsewhere. The good thing is, when I find someone who treats me well regardless of how I dress, I know that is someone who I want to do business with.” Shawn Walsh
13. The Teacher Mistreated My Brother Because She Assumed His Family Was Poor

I didn’t even know this was “a thing” that some teachers do.

“When my brother was in elementary school, we lived in a very wealthy neighborhood that had a broad spectrum of upper-middle-class to super-mega-rich residents…doctors and other professionals to the resident billionaire, basically. And the town where we lived was one of those where everyone looked at your address to decide how you should be treated, which is utter *******.

Anywa*y, some teachers despised people from our neighborhood, based solely on address, and some did the opposite…acted worshipfully, as if a family’s opinion could somehow affect them.

All of my brother’s teachers were the despising type, and he had a pretty miserable time. But after he was out of fourth grade, my mother was at some social event and ran into the teacher, who told her, cryptically, ‘I didn’t know at the time that you were his mother and that you were in. Things would have gone differently.’
How lousy is that?!? ‘I’m sorry.

If I knew you lived in the right neighborhood, I might have treated your son better in school.’ Idiotic.” Amorette Dye

12. They Were Skeptical To Let Us Into The Restaurant

“One time, I was on a Euro trip with my best friend. We are both from very wealthy families by most standards (think net worths of well over $100 million). We were in our hotel, and my friend decides to call his black card concierge to find a place to have dinner later.

I tell him to not find anything too snobby by accident, but he mishears me. We pick a place and have them make a reservation.
When we arrive, we are dressed similarly. I am wearing sneakers, jeans, and a hoodie over a t-shirt that can only be described as raggedy. He is wearing a jacket with a hoodie built-in, over a polo and sneakers with jeans.

We ring the bell (this was one of those closed-door restaurants), and the door is opened by a very surprised- looking doorman. The first thing the Maître d’hôtel does is show us the menu and ask if the prices are okay. When we let him know that yes, they are absolutely fine with us, we are shown to a table.
Almost everyone else in the place is dressed more formally.

My friend is mortified, meanwhile I am laughing my a*s off. I love to see snobs squirm. We have a decent meal and my friend pays with his black card and I pay with cash, drawing hundreds from a stack in my wallet.  The wait staff has completely changed their tune, and we are treated with immense courtesy as we exit.

To this day, this remains one of my favorite stories about people treating you lik*e *** until they realize you have money.” Anonymous

11. She Saw My BMW And Finally Wanted To Make Small Talk With Me

“It was an elderly lady in our little town I occasionally met. She was not very nice to me, not even a proper hello or a smile.

I wondered why. I thought that was just the way she was. We only talked to each other when other people were around. She was nicer to them. I assumed she liked to talk to people she knew.
Then one day she passed our garage, where my husband was busy cleaning our cars – a nice red cab and BMW Z4 outside the garage and two 325s inside.

I have to say, none of our cars are new; they come to us and stay with us. The oldest is soon to be a veteran, 30-years-old. The value of our four BMWs is less than the value of two new Toyotas, which is normal for a family to have. Still, people tend to make a point of how much money we spend on cars.

I don’t know, but it has always seemed to me that owning a BMW is like waving a red flag to some people.
Back to this lady, she must have thought that owning a Z4 must be the coolest thing. She complimented my husband on his car. Next time we met, she was very nice to me and told everyone around about the nice Z4 we owned.

Since that day, she has been overly nice to both me and my husband.

I don’t know why she suddenly turned out to be so friendly to me. Maybe she thought we were rich all the sudden. Neither our house or style of dressing or other things in our life would get her to think we were. She herself a bit of that upper-class style.

But all the sudden, because of a red little cab, I became worthy of a smile and some small talk.” Elfrid Tyri Gulliksen

10. She Yelled At Me To Wait My Turn

“I started off as a new police officer as anyone else in the organization. Through luck, education, good test scores and the good graces of people who saw some talent, I was promoted rapidly through the ranks.

Working for a fairly large agency, not a lot of people knew me as I moved up.

So when I went to get a new ID for my new position, I still looked pretty young at that time. I wore a suit too so I guess I might have looked even like a new employee or maybe someone junior in rank. Looking at pictures from that time, I scared myself at how young I looked… I would venture to say early 20s, 22 at most, when I was actually in my 30s.

When I walked into the place to get my ID, the lady who was working at the counter yelled at me to get back to the other side of the counter and wait my turn. She didn’t even look up from her desk when she yelled at me. I didn’t know there was a right side of the counter being that it was really an open area with no clear signage.

I waited for her to call me, and I handed over the paperwork and told her I need a new ID. She took a look at the job title, looked at me, and did a total 180 in attitude… ‘Oh… You’re the new XXX of XXX… Please… Let me help you right here!’
She became very pleasant and took care of me because even though she doesn’t directly report to my division, I worked for people who she would definitely like to stay on the good side of.

I didn’t take it personally. I hear that is her personality in general, rough around the edges. Later on, we actually got along. And I helped her out on a few things. I gave her a hard time about our first meeting a few times. I haven’t talked to her for a while but heard she is still the same.” William Smith

9. Initially, She Was Reluctant To Sell Me The House

“On a hot summer day, I was outside painting my dad’s garage.

I was a complete mess. I had on cheap clothes I didn’t mind getting dirty, paint all over my face, and I was sweating profusely. I was 25 at the time and was living with my parents to save up enough money to buy my own house. Mind you, I had been saving as much money as I could since I was 16.

I wasn’t rich but living with my parents helped save up a substantial amount of money in 10 years. (THANKS MOM AND DAD.)
While I was painting the garage, I noticed the home in front of me was having an open house. Out of curiosity, I took a break and went to check it out. I was the only one in the open house.

The real estate agent gave one look at me and completely dismissed me. She didn’t even bother to give me a pamphlet. Everywhere I went, she would linger around making sure I wouldn’t steal anything.

I remember asking her questions about the house, and she was completely dismissive of me. In her eyes, I was a poor laborer who was wasting her time.

So I got a little annoyed and decided to show her who I really was – A recent economics graduate who did their emphasis in the real estate crash. The more questions I asked the more she realized that I may actually have money. In the end, I told her that the house was overpriced at 350k. But if they were willing to take 250k cash for the house, I might be willing to buy.

I went back to painting the garage. An hour later she came by to give me her card. I said, ‘Thanks, but no thanks. I have a real estate agent.’
The house stayed on the market for a few months before it sold. Moral of the story is, don’t judge a book by its cover. It may cost you a commission.” Tigran Yeremyan

8. She Was Stunned When She Saw Me Seated With The Board Members

“When I was 25, I served on the board of directors for a major performing arts non-profit organization in my town.

I was the youngest member by far but devoted a lot of time to it and was respected by my other board members. Often, I’d do menial work to support our productions, such as cleaning after shows or volunteering at the box office.
We once had a new director come into work on a show. I had not met her, and I was working at the box office on opening night.

I was dressed ‘business casual’ and seated in the box office when she came in. I greeted her, and she marched past me without a word. I noticed that someone had left a small trash can upside down on the front porch; I recognized it as being from one of our restrooms. Someone had washed it out and neglected to return it.

It’s a security violation to leave the office, so when the director came back out on the porch, I mentioned that the trash can was there and she might want to take it with her inside to put in the restroom. She flew into a rage, yelling at me for ‘not doing my job; and how disrespectful it was of me to ask her to do ‘my work’ when she was busy getting ready for the show.

I apologized and politely said, ‘I’m actually here to run the box office this evening, but thought you’d like to know that the restroom didn’t have its trash can. My name’s Rachel Wayne; you’ve heard of me working this show from one of the other board-.’ She spat, ‘Well, I’ve never heard of you’ and stormed off. The trash can remained there until the end of the show.

The look on her face when she saw me the following week at our gala, dressed to the nines, seated among all the board members, was priceless.”

Another User Comments:

Although it doesn’t excuse her behavior, this commenter has another perspective in mind…
“The directors are usually very busy right before a show, especially on the opening night. The box office staff too face immense pressure that night, but depending on the time when this incident occurred, I’d rather take the trash can myself if I was in the box office than to ask the director to do it.

I think the question is not so much about whether the director looked at you as if you were too young, but rather who is more able to do it at that point in time.” Tze Jie Huang

7. He Didn’t Have Time For Me Until He Learned About My Financial Status

What I’ve learned over the years is that a lot of the time when people say they have “no time” for you, they aren’t actually busy; they just don’t prioritize giving you their attention.

This is one of those cases.
“Sure, the time I went to buy an SUV. I went into the dealership wearing shorts and a sort of ragged t-shirt. I told them I would be paying cash.

The salesman said he ‘didn’t have time’ to take me for a test drive. The dealership was empty.

I said, ‘Really?’ He reiterated that he had too much paperwork to do.

I started heading for the door. On my way out I said, quite loudly, ‘I’ll tell all the other doctors not to patronize this dealership.’ When the manager heard this, he sprinted the 25 feet to catch up, trying to convince me to change my mind. I declined, went to another dealer, and after a test drive, bought the vehicle.
Interestingly, my new SUV came off the first dealer’s lot.” Christopher Fox

6. My Appearance Made Me Look Like A Thief Instead Of A Paying Customer

“I walked into a cake and candy making supply store.

Was dressed in sweat pants, looked rough I suppose. Upon entering each employee stood at the end of each aisle. Putting themselves near me every time. Having worked security (retail), I knew what they were trying to do. I ignored them yet non verbally and jokingly made them aware I was aware. Purchased the items in my hand. Didn’t mention it.

Came in another day well dressed, purchased more items. Through eye contact, demeanor as well, communicated my knowing the incident yet being friendly. I doubt they were more than mildly aware of my amusement. They were nervous, fearful. Parked behind their store the third time. I have a moderately expensive SUV, nice enough stealing here would be unlikely. If I were an employee there, I would have been suspicious as well.

Going there now I treat them as well as I would if this had not happened. The look on their faces each time shows them to be much more uncomfortable presently than I was that day.” Chris Casberg

5. She Didn’t Take Me Seriously As A Customer

“About 5 years back I was in the UK on a business trip, I went to Harrod’s to see if I could buy something for my family.

It was winter, and I was wearing an old coat which looked like it would come apart anytime. (I had to travel at a short notice so hadn’t had the time to buy a new coat and had picked up an old coat I had in my wardrobe.)
In the watches section, I liked a really nice Swiss chronograph and wanted to buy it for my father.

I asked the sales clerk if they had the watch in a white dial. She looked at me condescendingly and in noted in her clipped Brit accent maybe I could look at something that more suited to me, as in, something less expensive.

I said that I wanted to buy it for my father. She still looked at me like I was wasting her time and snorted that the watch costs 1100 GBP.

I said that’s fine; I would like to buy it if they had in white. I looked at her patiently and she finally bought the one with a white dial from the case.
When I pulled out my Amex platinum card to pay for the watch, her expression was priceless. She seemed a bit embarrassed with her behavior and lamely said that I had made an excellent choice and my father would be very happy with the timepiece I bought.” Sandy Kotz

4. He Was Shocked To Find Out I Was Travelling First Class

“When I was in my early twenties my employer arranged a special company event, and we all traveled to London from Cambridge on the train, first-class, and we stayed overnight at the Waldorf.

On the way back, I traveled without my colleagues, dressed very casually. I was alone in first class, reading, with my ticket being used as a bookmark. Some other people came and sat in the carriage, equally casually dressed if not quite scruffy.
A ticket inspector arrived and addressed the others in an abrupt tone and almost rudely told them to go back to second class.

He then turned to me and said bluntly ‘your ticket.’ I’d already considered various responses. Without even looking up from my book, I simply held the ticket up for him, like it was an everyday event.

The moment he saw it was a first-class ticket, his manner changed, and he handed the ticket back gently and, with a much milder politer tone, wished me a good journey.” Paul Mansfield

3. The Dealership Guy Asked Me To Mow His Lawn

That’s a low blow.

“A few years ago, I went to an auto dealership north of Seattle to get a Passat for an au pair who was going to be with us for a while.

It was a weekday, and since most of my friends were at work, I took the bus and then took Uber to the dealership. It was spring, so I went in wearing a hoodie and Levis. One of the guys asks me what I am there for, told him it was for the car, asks me to wait, calls another guy to help me.

Another dealership guy walks by. I casually chatted with him as well, and he asks if I had time to mow his lawn! I was so surprised that I didn’t reply and walked away.
Negotiated with the sales guy, knocked the price by a couple of thousand on the car. Eventually, they pull my insurance info and realize the other car I own…. a Tesla Model S.

Now the guy who asked me to mow his lawn was the finance guy… I told the salesman and the manager about the earlier conversation and refused to work with him. Needless to say, a bit of an embarrassment to him.

This is no disrespect to the hard-working folk, but this guy judged me on my skin color and nothing else.” Avinash Venkata

2. Based On Her Attire, He Assumed She Was Born Into A Poor Family

“Here’s a story that happened in my community.

There was a girl in my congregation many years ago who was playing outside the dining room of her synagogue while her parents prayed. Unfortunately, she had a habit of getting dirty easily, so her mother gave up on fancy dresses and gave her a plain dress to play in. Being a curious little girl, she decided to peek inside and the Bar Mitzvah that was being set up.

The little girl was enchanted by the beautiful decorations. ‘Wow, I would love a party like this someday,’ she whispered.

The caterer snickered at this girl, whose dress was already covered in jam from her sandwich. ‘Well, if your father was important enough, maybe you’d get one.’
The girl shrugged and walked away, laughing quietly. The caterer had no idea that that little girl was the daughter of a wealthy and prominent family, and that her family had lent the money for the party.

The caterer found out who that little girl was when she was walking around with her father. ‘That’s your daughter?’ he asked, a bit taken aback at who he had just insulted. ‘I didn’t realize.’

The father laughed. ‘It’s good for my daughter to be humble,’ he said and shook the man’s hand.” Elke Weiss

1. He Wanted A Mid-Range Vehicle, Not A Cheap Car

Always ask your clients what their price range is rather than making assumptions.

“I won’t say I was treated poorly, but when I was 26, I went shopping for a new car. I live in a low standard of a living city, so my engineer salary and profit-sharing allowed me to buy a MINI Cooper for myself at 23. I drove a lot for work and thought about getting something else that would be kinder to the mileage that I was racking up.

I went to a Ford dealer. I go on a Saturday so I’m in jeans and a Star Wars t-shirt. The guy takes me out to the cheapest of cheap Fords and keeps pushing for that even though I’m asking about the mid-range vehicles. Finally, I mention that I’m trading in a fully paid for 3-year-old MINI. Suddenly the vehicles we’re talking about got much nicer with lots of bells and whistles.

I ultimately decided to stay with my MINI and deal with expensive replacement parts.
So not poorly, but the salesman’s perception of me was based purely on how I was dressed rather than the spoken information provided.” Luke Stark

It’s crazy to think how much power our appearance has over the way people not only perceive but treat us. Realtors, car salespeople, store associates, and even random people on the streets have had their fair share of moments where they’ve accidentally mistreated someone, assuming they were just “common folk.” Got a story to share? Tell us everything!