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I thought it would be so easy since I knew exactly what I wanted. Because I had JUST bought that rug.

It was a really good deal. 30 by 12 feet of rug for only $107.

I just needed more for my home improvement project. Another roll of the same stuff and a little less than the same quantity of it. Like 24 by 12 feet.

It’s a lot of rug but it’s really not that bad or heavy.

It’s just long and bulky, but with another person, it’s totally doable. You hold one end and the other person holds the other end. That’s how fu**ing simple it is.

I took the same car I took last time. To the same store.

I went inside the store and wanted to make sure that the rug was still available. I asked the cashier.

He was nice. He called the lady in charge of rugs and she approached me from the other side of the store.

She was not happy. I had seen her on the previous day as well but today she was worse. Way worse.

She looked at me with judgment written all over her face.

I was so confused. What was her problem? All I wanted was to buy some goddamn rug. The exact same one from before. I knew the name of it. I knew the freaking pin number of it.

So why was she acting like it was SO difficult to help me?

It’s like she had decided that she was going to have a bad experience helping me even before she started.

I said I was back to buy more of the Ocean Blue Rug.

She glared and told me “All my rug is gone. There might not be any left. You can’t just have Ocean Blue because you want it…”

It’s like how dare I come in and want some specific rug. It seemed outrageous that I could want to accomplish this.

Last time, they had helped us even without us specifically asking for help.

These rugs are on long bars that move up or down depending on the pin number that the Home Depot employee punches in.

You can’t just grab some off the shelves like you can with smaller items.

It is NORMAL to need some help. Last time, they had spent a while explaining the different rug options, and helped to take the rug down, and brought a big, special cart to hold the rug. Then they had helped us to load the rug into the car.

So, when I went in today, this is the kind of customer service I was expecting. What a difference it makes, apparently, when you go in alone.

Turns out she did have the exact rug I wanted and the exact quantity of it. So, next, the problem was that I didn’t have a cart to put it on yet. I hadn’t seen one big enough yet and she sure wasn’t going to help me find one.

She again looked at me like I was a crazy person and made a rude noise. How dare you approach me for help when you don’t even have your cart yet.

It’s like, lady, I didn’t even know the rug was still available, remember? So why would I get the big cart before making sure first?

And, again, LAST time we had talked about which rug we would get, made sure it was available, and then THEY went and got the appropriate cart.

I told her I hadn’t seen one (a big enough cart) yet and then went and found one.

She begrudgingly helped me to load the rug onto the cart and to wheel it to the cashier.

It’s like this whole affair is not that difficult. Again, the rug is NOT heavy. It’s just bulky and hard to move and carry on your own.

I just needed a hand as anyone would.

But I am 5 feet 4 inches and a woman. When I need help, it’s a much bigger deal and I am reprimanded for it. Because, of course, I shouldn’t have come in alone in the first place.

Last time, they had loaded it into the car without us even asking for their help. And, last time, there were two of us! This time it was just me.

The rug lady asked another guy to help me load the rug into my car.

He looked at us like we were all crazy. He didn’t say anything for a good minute.

It was like being amongst aliens! What WAS going on?

Then he said: “What, are you trying to give me a heart attack??”

I do not understand. Why was it more difficult to help me this time? WHY?

They had literally just helped me do the exact same thing two days ago.

I KNEW the actions they had to execute were all things they had already DONE. Besides, I told them I was here two days ago.

Last time, they had wheeled the cart holding the rug to the car. This time, the guy passively and begrudgingly walked next to me as I pushed the cart to the car.

I opened my trunk. The seats were already laid down. My car was good to load and go. Cuz I had done the exact same thing TWO days ago.

He looked at my car and said: “You’re planning to put it into THIS thing???”

Sometimes, it is not till AFTER, that you realize that you have just been discriminated against.

But when he made that last comment, I felt pretty convinced as to what the hell was going on.

These guys simply could not handle a woman shopping at Home Depot alone for something big and bulky.

I loaded the damn rug into the car.

He was still questioning it even after the rug was already inside!

I was like I got this, goodbye, and closed up the trunk and doors of the car.

It’s like you think I am a damsel in distress but also you are LESS helpful.

Also, what distress? I was not attempting to do anything beyond my means. I needed a hand like anyone would need a hand. Like you would normally do for a (male) customer.

But when I needed a hand with something, you treated me with hostility for existing.

Shopping at Home Depot reminded me that the state of women is STILL SH*T. We can’t even buy some freaking RUG without a fight.

It sucks to be treated like this. It makes no sense.

Since I went back by myself only two days after going in with a guy, I remember very clearly ALL the ways in which this experience differed from the previous experience. They helped us last time when there were more of us and they treated me like sh*t this time.

This is not just about shopping at Home Depot

This is the sort of thing that keeps women from doing things. That keeps women out of STEM fields and other male-dominated areas like freaking home improvement, apparently.

So, instead of preaching it to the little girls, preach it to the freaking adults.

There are summer camps and workshops to encourage young women to choose science and whatnot. Adults trying SO hard to get women to do something.

Breaking news, folks, women are ALREADY interested in these things. They are PEOPLE too. They are interested in the same fu**ing things.

It’s just that people around are WEIRD when it’s a woman doing something rather than a man. People don’t know how to behave. How to BE. The things that are just NATURALLY done for men are not done for women.

ADULTS need to change. They need to stop being weird and hostile when women do things. They need to stop QUESTIONING women.

Not that the rug was a particularly heavy object, but women of all shapes and sizes and colors and ages have lifted heavy objects and continue to do so, so there is no need to act like that’s not a thing. Stop acting weird about it and help them as you would NORMALLY.

Do you have a “weird” experience you want to share? Feel free to go nuts below.

Edit: I have been to the same Home Depot since this experience to buy paint and to get a new carpet installed. In both departments, women helped me out as well as a man. It went a lot better. I have also seen more women working there now and sincerely hope that things are changing for the better.