00:00Helen Marsh, I have a 10 o'clock.
00:02Well, good morning, Ms. Marsh. I'm Diana. I'll be handling your account today.
00:06Can I get you anything before we get started?
00:08I'd like to be taken to whoever is in charge.
00:10I am in charge. I'm the office manager.
00:12Is there a manager I can speak with? Someone senior?
00:16I am the manager, and I am a senior. I'm the one you have the appointment with.
00:21I see.
00:22Can I take your purse?
00:23No.
00:24Well, the conference room is through here.
00:26I pulled the file, and I have everything we need, so I'm ready to get started whenever you are.
00:30Before we do that, I'd like to clarify who I'll be working with going forward.
00:34That would be me.
00:35Is that set in stone?
00:37Well, accounts are assigned based on expertise and availability, and I've been on yours since the beginning.
00:42And there's no flexibility in that?
00:46Not without a documented reason requiring a change. Do you have one?
00:50I wasn't informed of this arrangement.
00:54I would be more comfortable working with someone else.
00:57And can you clarify what your concern is?
01:00I simply prefer a different point of contact.
01:02On what basis?
01:04Preference doesn't require a basis.
01:07Well, in a professional setting, when you're asking me to hand off an account I've managed for three months, it
01:12does.
01:12I'm simply asking for a different account manager.
01:15Other offices accommodate that kind of request.
01:18And what's the specific concern, Ms. Marsh?
01:21My comfort level.
01:22Comfortable with what?
01:23The working relationship.
01:26Well, you walked in four minutes ago. We haven't had one yet.
01:30Hmm. I want to be clear that this is not a reflection on you personally.
01:38Then what is a reflection of?
01:40My client preferences, which I am entitled to have.
01:44You are.
01:45You are also entitled to explain them when they affect the work I've been doing on your behalf for three
01:50months.
01:51It doesn't need an explanation. It's just a preference.
01:55Ms. Marsh, I prepared a full account review for today's meeting.
01:59I know your file better than anyone in this office.
02:01I'd like to at least show you what we have before you decide anything.
02:05That won't be necessary.
02:06Well, you haven't seen it yet, Ms. Marsh.
02:08I don't need to.
02:10I'd like to speak to someone else.
02:12Is everything all right over there?
02:14Do you work here?
02:21What kind of trouble?
02:22The person assigned to my account isn't what I expected.
02:26I'd prefer someone better suited to my needs.
02:29Better suited how?
02:31It's a matter of professionalism. Fit.
02:34What specifically makes her a bad fit for your account?
02:36I don't think I need to justify my preferences to...
02:40You're asking her to hand off an account she's managed for three months.
02:43That needs a reason.
02:44My comfort level is the reason.
02:46Comfortable with what?
02:47The dynamic.
02:49What's wrong with the dynamic?
02:51I believe in clear communication with my account team.
02:55Has she been unclear?
02:56It's more of an instinct.
02:58An instinct about what?
03:00I feel like I'm not being heard.
03:01I've heard every word you said.
03:03None of it amounts to a reason.
03:04That's your opinion.
03:06Let me ask you something directly, Ms. Marsh.
03:09Go ahead.
03:10If Diana were a white woman, would we be having this conversation?
03:17That has nothing to do with anything.
03:21Take that as a no.
03:22Your question is inappropriate.
03:23I'm trying to understand the preference you keep mentioning.
03:26You've used the word four times.
03:27I'd like to know what it means.
03:29Oh!
03:30I have said everything I intend to say on that.
03:33Ms. Marsh, I've been in this office for four years.
03:36I have a master's degree in business administration.
03:39I've managed accounts larger than this one,
03:42handled situations more complex than this one,
03:44and earned my position the same way anyone earns a position.
03:48By doing the work.
03:49I wasn't questioning your qualification.
03:52You walked in here, asked for someone in charge,
03:55refused to accept that it was me,
03:57asked three separate times for a different person,
04:00and looked to the waiting room for a more suitable option.
04:04That has a name.
04:05The name is not preference, and it does not fit,
04:08and it is not comfort level.
04:10Okay, you are being very aggressive right now.
04:14I'm speaking at a normal volume and stating documented facts.
04:18That's not aggression.
04:19Well, I feel threatened.
04:21By what specifically?
04:23By your tone.
04:25My tone is calm, Ms. Marsh.
04:26You can hear it.
04:27I came here for a professional meeting.
04:31And so did I.
04:32I've been prepared for it since 9 a.m.
04:34I want this on record.
04:39You know what?
04:40I am going to record this.
04:43I'm documenting this.
04:45You're being aggressive and threatening,
04:47and I want it on record.
04:49This footage is going to show exactly what kind of environment this office runs.
04:53Good.
04:54For the record, I am Diana, the office manager.
04:58It's approximately 10.07 a.m.
05:01Ms. Marsh arrived for a 10 o'clock appointment.
05:04Upon seeing me at the front desk, she requested a different point of contact.
05:08When I asked for the reason, she offered words like preference, fit, and comfort level
05:13on four separate occasions without providing a specific professional concern.
05:17I have not raised my voice.
05:19I have not made physical contact.
05:21I have not threatened her.
05:23Okay, you can't just...
05:24I'm giving your footage context I didn't have before.
05:27I'd like whoever reviews it to have the full picture.
05:29Stop talking to the camera.
05:31It's your camera, Ms. Marsh.
05:33Okay, I'm turning it off.
05:34You started the recording.
05:36I'm happy for it to continue.
05:37You are totally making this into something it isn't.
05:40I named what it is.
05:42That's different.
05:43I came here in good faith.
05:46Good faith would have been walking in and shaking my hand.
05:49I want to speak to someone above you.
05:50I am the top of this office.
05:52There is no one above me here.
05:54Then I will be taking my business elsewhere and making sure everyone I know hears about
05:59how I was treated.
06:00You're welcome to do that.
06:02You're also welcome to include the footage.
06:04Officer Gary Okafer, active duty.
06:07I've been in this waiting room since 945 and I was present for everything that occurred
06:11from the moment Ms. Marsh walked in.
06:14There has been a misunderstanding.
06:16Tell me what was misunderstood.
06:17I was expressing a preference.
06:19That's all.
06:20I have the right to a preference.
06:21You do.
06:22You also expressed it repeatedly in front of a law enforcement officer and I was watching
06:26the whole time.
06:27I never said anything explicitly.
06:29You didn't need to say it directly.
06:31What you said, how you said it, and what you were looking at when you said it.
06:34That was clear enough.
06:36You're reading into things.
06:37What I observed constitutes harassment.
06:39You're going to need to come with me.
06:41I am a client.
06:43I came here for a scheduled meeting.
06:45I understand that.
06:46Now I need you to come with me to the station.
06:48Oh, I want to speak to a supervisor.
06:50I am the supervisor on this.
06:51I will be contacting my lawyer.
06:54You can do that at the station.
06:55The longer we have this conversation here, the worse the situation looks for you.
06:58Oh, I run a business.
07:00I have a reputation.
07:02I can...
07:02Miss Marsh, that concern should have come to mind about 40 minutes ago.
07:06Can I at least reschedule the appointment?
07:09That account is no longer available to you, Miss Marsh.
07:13You can't do that.
07:14I just did.
07:17This is completely...
07:19I don't understand how this is even...
07:20Miss Marsh...
07:21I just wanted a different account manager.
07:23That is all this was.
07:24That's not all it was.
07:25And you know that.
07:26I am not a bad person.
07:28I'm not here to make that determination.
07:30I'm here because of what I observed.
07:33Let's go.
07:37Hands behind your back.
07:39Officer Okafor.
07:42For staying.
07:43And for not walking past it.
07:45And for asking the one question she couldn't answer.
07:48You handled yourself better than most would have.
07:50I've had practice.
07:52I know.
07:52And I'm sorry for that.
07:54Let's go.
07:56This is not how today was supposed to go.
07:59No.
07:59It wasn't.
08:02It wasn't.
