When is your business no longer yours?

I turn potential customers down all the time for a variety of reasons, none though for race, sexual orientation or any other PC reason. It always boils down to whether I want to work in a particular customers home, whether it's clean or not, does it stink? Whether or not I believe the customer can pay at the end of the job or not. Whether or not I get on with the customer at the quotation stage is a big factor, whether or not I can fulfil the customers expectations or not, many people have pie in the sky ideas. Working in London probably the worst thing you could do is to turn down gays and to make it obvious as to why you are turning them down. Because if you do you might just as we'll shut up shop. I have plenty of gay customers and they come from all walks of life, not my thing by any means, but I suppose because it is not a rarity in London anymore it doesn't bother most people 20 or 30 years ago I would have had a different opinion. One of my gay customers even sends me cupcakes for my birthday!

Barney - you say you turn down business and i do understand that, but what happens if you turn the business down and then you are challenged by the PC brigade?

If you are a business owner surely you can decide not to do a piece of work due to a number of reasons, i know you cant be racist, sexist or similar, but if your religious beliefs don't allow or you feel you can't "service" the customer why should the commission be looking in to it?

I dont have any strong opinions for/against Gay Rights, but clearly this company do under religious reasons - why should that be challenged?

I visit some property's and it might be infested with say cockroaches, the customer has more chance of winning the lottery twice a week for a month than of getting me to work with them. I also visit some people who think I will work in their property with no shoes on, well I have no idea whether or not they or their family or previous visitors have feet infections, I don't want it if they have, so I'll offer to wear shoe protector covers, if this is not acceptable to them I'm off. likewise some will lock the front door whilst your working in the property, if they do I ask them not to, if they insist again I'm off. I've met allsorts of fruitcakes during my working life and being locked in a flat with a schizophrenic on a 10th floor of a high rise and they wont let you go because they have no heating is not something I'd recommend. Most of the reasons I turn work down for are health and safety issues. 

As I don't have any major religious beliefs it doesn't really effect me. I think for those that do have strong religious beliefs then they'd be better off using a more diplomatic excuse, rather than blurting out I can't work for you because your gay or whatever. However untold legal fees are being spent nowadays on on people having to fight their corner whereas all things should be equal. Personally if I asked someone to do some work in my house, if they didn't like cats I would understand that, it wouldn't bother me in the slightest and I 'd go and find someone who was willing to work around them. We all have our quirks that someone somewhere will find offensive to work with...

Hmm it does come across as discrimination but as your industry is obviously an intimate area i can get why this would be the case.

I think the whole race, religion and gender issue can get blown out of proportion to suit ALL ones arguments.

What i dont understand though is that you can have a National Black Police Association, or MOBO Awards, but put the word white in and you are racists?

Originally Posted by ColonWhisperer25

“I think we are straying into the area of reverse discrimination and Nanny state, here. ”

Yep, kinda strayed off piste so to speak 

Back to the OP - still think its wrong that as a company you cannot decide what customer you can & cannot serve without someone claiming, sex, race or some other form of discrimination.

We really are too afraid to stand up for our morals or beliefs for fear of upsetting someone else - its pathetic