@iShop123 wrote:
Fat, skinny, tall, short, bald, or horse-faced are descriptions, not judgments. If someone is skinny, they know they're skinny [insert anything else in there]. Some MSCs show "apparent race". Again, it's not a judgment or an insult to report someone as Pacific Islander when they're Asian - it's a description that sets Filipino Benny apart from Caucasian Benny.
It might not be an insult, but it would still be a judgment. Asian Benny might not actually be Filipino or Pacific Islander---and although it's very unlikely you wouldn't be able to tell, "Asian" Benny might not actually be Asian. Or they may be Eurasian. And you should either see or take a closer look at some of the twins with mixed ethnic backgrounds, but their "racial" traits are so clear-yet-different that most people wouldn't guess it unless you saw both of them together. There are some highly circulated photographs of people who had to prove they were twins. People of one race can sometimes also pass for others---it's common in the acting world, and unfortunately, it becomes life or death for some people. You can't always tell "race" just by looking. To get even more technical, it's a social construct.
Additionally, comments about weight can be tricky. The medical definition of overweight, underweight, or healthy weight is not what matches up with some cultural standards, and you never know who might be struggling with an eating disorder or body dysmorphia.
IMO: Getting the name of the employee is almost always enough. I can understand asking for a few physical details, but I still try to be as vague as possible. 99.9% of the time, the shopper writes up all of the shopped employee's information which the company needs. It's kind of a fine art to be culturally, racially, or medically sensitive. I'm okay providing a few physical details, but I'll no longer work with the one client/MSC I ever thought was being blatantly out of line in that department.
Edited 6 time(s). Last edit at 10/01/2017 07:07AM by OceanGirl.