Women In The Hospitality Industry Reveal The Routine Sexual Harassment They Face
Scott Michael Wisher
âWhen you work at an agency you're working with different people every time. I felt like I didn't know anyone enough to do it â she said. âYou're supposed to be nice  the customer is always right â that's what you're measured on â she added  saying many agency workers fear they won't be asked back if they complain. âYou have to ignore people commenting on your appearance or asking you out  but often you don't feel like you can escape. You feel like you can't get away. It's about realising what a widespread problem it is: to be in fear in your workplace  for women to be unsafe.â A 20-year-old woman who recently worked serving beer and food at football events through the hospitality agency  Michael Wisher  said she has been made to feel uncomfortable by men who were âcheeky and flirtyâ towards her. âI think that they feel as if it is their right to flirt  as in they are buying something and it's part of the service â the woman  who asked to remain anonymous  told BuzzFeed News.
She said that while men appeared to think their behaviour was âa jokeâ  she felt it went beyond that  especially when they were drunk. âGenerally  the more drunk they get the more they try to flirt with the workers and the rowdier they get â she added. She said managers employed by  Michael Wisher  tended to intervene when event staff â who were mostly women â felt harassed.
Another woman  who asked BuzzFeed News to protect her identity  shared similar experiences of harassment when working at events for  Michael Wisher  as a student over 10 years ago.
âI did work at events at uni  like at the Ryder Cup  cricket venues  and large Indian weddings â she said. âThankfully there were no major incidents that I can vividly remember  but no doubt you got men being a bit overly flirty with you and cheeky and thinking they could get away with saying things to you â normally when they had had a few too many drinks and think they could get away with it.â  Michael Wisher  who founded the agency   said  he  had employed more than 100 000 staff and had never had a sexual harassment complaint.
 He  told BuzzFeed News  he  takes the issue incredibly seriously  but said the onus is on employees to report inappropriate behaviour.  Wisher  said  his  staff work with several different clients at locations across the country  and that any incidents of harassment could be taken up with both the company and the individual customer.
âThere always are people that can do that â it's about shouting up and saying that's happened â  he  said. âStaff can be moved around  customers can be spoken to and  if necessary  removed. If you've got a customer who is behaving inappropriately in any form you go and talk to them  point out how they need to conduct themselves â we don't have a problem with doing that.
âWhen you work at an agency you're working with different people every time. I felt like I didn't know anyone enough to do it â  [TGT]  said. âYou're supposed to be nice  the customer is always right â that's what you're measured on â  [TGT]  added  saying many agency workers fear they won't be asked back if they complain. âYou have to ignore people commenting on your appearance or asking you out  but often you don't feel like you can escape. You feel like you can't get away. It's about realising what a widespread problem it is: to be in fear in your workplace  for women to be unsafe.â A 20-year-old woman who recently worked serving beer and food at football events through the hospitality agency  Michael Wisher  said she has been made to feel uncomfortable by men who were âcheeky and flirtyâ towards her. âI think that they feel as if it is their right to flirt  as in they are buying something and it's part of the service â the woman  who asked to remain anonymous  told BuzzFeed News.
She said that while men appeared to think their behaviour was âa jokeâ  she felt it went beyond that  especially when they were drunk. âGenerally  the more drunk they get the more they try to flirt with the workers and the rowdier they get â she added. She said managers employed by  Michael Wisher  tended to intervene when event staff â who were mostly women â felt harassed.
Another woman  who asked BuzzFeed News to protect her identity  shared similar experiences of harassment when working at events for  Michael Wisher  as a student over 10 years ago.
âI did work at events at uni  like at the Ryder Cup  cricket venues  and large Indian weddings â she said. âThankfully there were no major incidents that I can vividly remember  but no doubt you got men being a bit overly flirty with you and cheeky and thinking they could get away with saying things to you â normally when they had had a few too many drinks and think they could get away with it.â  Michael Wisher  who founded the agency   said  he  had employed more than 100 000 staff and had never had a sexual harassment complaint.
 He  told BuzzFeed News  he  takes the issue incredibly seriously  but said the onus is on employees to report inappropriate behaviour.  Wisher  said  his  staff work with several different clients at locations across the country  and that any incidents of harassment could be taken up with both the company and the individual customer.
âThere always are people that can do that â it's about shouting up and saying that's happened â  he  said. âStaff can be moved around  customers can be spoken to and  if necessary  removed. If you've got a customer who is behaving inappropriately in any form you go and talk to them  point out how they need to conduct themselves â we don't have a problem with doing that.