I am writing this post sitting in a local tire repair shop getting the wife’s tire replaced. A couple came in after me and I was shocked at what I saw and overheard. The black couple were verbally berated for having too much air in their tires. “Bob" is a sales manager for this location. 

Bob: “Who puts air in your tires?"

Woman: "Excuse me?"

Bob: “Who puts air in your tires?"

Woman: “Either me or him (gestures over to the man holding the baby)"

Bob: “Well you have one tire with 90 lbs and another one that has 80lbs of pressure and the other two tires are right around 30-35. You only need 30-35 lbs per tire. So you can go to Walmart and buy a tire gauge for $0.99 and you should be ok the next time you put air in there” <further discussion about tire pressure and the ride quality>

As the couple left to get into their vehicle, the anger on the man’s face was unmistakable. No one wants to be talked down to and the tone definitely was condescending in nature and Bob and I would have had words if he would have talked to me like that.

When it was my turn to be helped, Bob had a more neutral tone. I have no idea whether it was my clothing or the fact I whipped out my MacBook Pro to write this post. 

The way Bob should have interacted with the couple:

Bob: “Hello Ma’am. The good news is that we found your problem"

Woman: “What was the problem?"

Bob: “Two of your tires have too much air pressure. You only need 30-35 lbs and two of your tires had between 80-90lbs. There is a safety risk driving on tires with the wrong pressure. You can pick up a tire pressure gauge at a gas station or even at Walmart for $0.99. I recommend checking the tire pressure with the gauge every time you put air in your tires"

Asking who puts air in the tire doesn’t matter. Regardless of how the customer is dressed they should be treated with respect.