I've worked in customer service for most of my adult life. I have a plethora of stories.

Nothing is worse than bad management, though. I'm in management myself and your manager should have spoken up.

Admittedly, I've made mistakes too in this capacity and have apologized to my employees for sometimes not speaking up when I should have.

I think the root of the problem is boundaries. And customers try to push that button to get what they want.

I had one customer try to talk to one of my younger female employees and compliment her on her tattoos she had on her arms. She's a bit introverted, and didn't know how to react so she didn't say anything.

He then started to complain about females, and how attention-seeking we were. "You get tattoos but you don't want anyone to talk about it. It's like women wearing low-cut shirts. I'm not supposed to look?"

My jaw dropped. When he was saying this I shrugged, and when I turned to her she was regressing with fear. Being an older women (I guess), he felt comfortable saying this to me, knowing she heard every word.

I still look back on that with regret. I should have stood up for her, but I went into shock and didn't respond. I apologized to her saying just that.
"I should have been your advocate," I said. "I'm so sorry for that".

From my perspective as a manager, I failed her and I owned it.

I hope things get better for you. People don't realize how hard it is to work for the general public.