The Customer Is Always Watching
Employers have long put customers to work watching and judging workers. With the development of technology like Ray-Ban Meta glasses, now customers have new surveillance tools of their own.
Retail workers have always been heavily surveilled by both bosses and customers. But the development of Ray-Ban Meta glasses and phone cameras is cranking that surveillance up to a whole new level. (Bridget Bennett / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Toru Hinkle was stocking shelves at Target when two customers appeared. Toru asked if they needed help. The men wanted a price check on an item that cost $20, but even after Hinkle told them the price, they kept asking. Eventually Hinkle noticed a blinking light on one customer’s glasses.
Mia Sato reported what happened next for The Verge, speaking with Hinkle and other workers about the new problems posed by customers wearing Ray-Ban Meta glasses. The men were filming Hinkle. They kept up the bit, repeatedly asking the price and deliberately misgendering Hinkle (who uses “they/them” pronouns) and a manager who came over to help. Hinkle told Sato that Hinkle tried saying “Meta, stop recording,” hoping the command might work on someone else’s glasses. It didn’t. The video wound up online, racking up hundreds of thousands of views. Another Target manager happened across it while scrolling.
The men weren’t Hinkle’s supervisors. They were customers. Hinkle had walked over because they seemed to need help. By the time it was obvious they were trying to get a reaction, Hinkle was stuck dealing with them.
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