Salmon Arm couple urges businesses to put dignity before differences<\/p>\n
Published 5:30 pm Wednesday, August 26, 2026<\/p>\n
Lead with basic respect.<\/p>\n
Salmon Arm couple Sheena and wife Paige Milos offer this advice to businesses \u2013 employees and employers \u2013 following an alleged brush with discrimination at a local insurance company.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen my wife and I walk into any place of business, we aren\u2019t there to make a statement or flaunt who we are,\u201d said Sheena. \u201cWe walk through those doors for the exact same reason anyone else does: because that business offers a product or service we need. We are simply ordinary people going about our everyday lives.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday evening, July 27, having just purchased a used car, the Milos\u2019 met the seller at Sussex Insurance, inside the Salmon Arm Walmart, to get the car insured. During what Sheena said \u201cshould have been a standard transaction,\u201d the Sussex employee helping them kept referring to Paige as \u201che.\u201d The Milos\u2019 acknowledged Paige\u2019s driver\u2019s licence has her listed as being \u201cmale,\u201d explaining it\u2019s because she\u2019s still in the process of transitioning from male to female.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I politely asked (the employee) if she would be able to use the pronouns \u201cshe\/her\u201d for my wife\u2026 Just in conversation, out of respect. She doesn\u2019t want to be \u2018he\u2019d\u2019 in public.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, the Milos\u2019 said the employee lost her temper, shouting in response that she didn\u2019t \u201chave time to get into that.\u201d The Milos\u2019 claim the employee continued to degrade them throughout the interaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was on the computer and just yelled out, \u2018I\u2019m going to f***ing kill you\u2019. She said it to her computer, like she was getting very frustrated,\u201d said Paige. \u201cIt was very unprofessional\u2026 And I\u2019m just like, if you\u2019re saying that to a computer, what would you say to a person?\u201d<\/p>\n
The Milos said they immediately reported what happened to a Walmart store manager. Afterwards, Sheena said they submitted a formal written complaint to Sussex Insurance\u2019s head office and customer relations.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also called their office and left a voicemail to ensure our concerns were formally registered,\u201d said Sheena.<\/p>\n
The Observer emailed Sussex Insurance about the incident on Aug. 6, and received a reply the next day from Jason Alexander, Sussex Insurance Group of Companies\u2019 vice president of operations. Alexander said the Observer\u2019s inquiry was the first time the matter had been brought to his attention, and that it would be looked into.<\/p>\n
Though unable to discuss internal matters, Alexander stated, \u201cOur expectation is that every customer is treated professionally, respectfully, and courteously\u2026\u201d, and said he would be reaching out to the Milos\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cI spoke directly with Sheena regarding her experience at our Salmon Arm location,\u201d said Alexander in a subsequent email. \u201cWe had a productive conversation; her concerns were taken seriously, and we were able to address the matter directly and make amends.<\/p>\n
\u201cSussex is committed to providing professional and respectful service to our customers, and when concerns are brought to our attention, we take them seriously and address them appropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n
While appreciative of Alexander\u2019s response, the Milos\u2019 note their experience at Sussex \u201chighlighted a gap that many businesses face.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile I appreciate Jason\u2019s acknowledgment that times have changed, it felt clear that their internal policies and staff training haven\u2019t kept pace,\u201d said Sheena. \u201cA commitment to inclusion cannot just be a policy on paper; it requires continuous learning and basic human awareness.<\/p>\n
\u201cAsking a business or an employee to respect a person\u2019s identity by using their proper pronouns is not asking a lot. It is a fundamental part of seeing someone as a human being.<\/p>\n
\u201cOften, when employees encounter someone who looks a little different or lives a bit differently than what they are used to, uncertainty can creep in. But the fundamental truth is that asking to be respected in a place of business is the bare minimum.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked what they hoped businesses might take away from their experience, the Milos\u2019 offered the following.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Keep training current: Regularly review and update inclusivity training so staff are equipped with the basic tools \u2013 like understanding and using correct pronouns \u2013 to warmly welcome everyone in our community;<\/p>\n
\u2022 Lead with basic respect: Inclusion isn\u2019t about asking anyone to agree with personal choices or lifestyles. I am not asking you to like me, my wife, or our choices \u2013 I am simply asking to be respected, and;<\/p>\n
\u2022 See the customer first: Recognize that every person walking into your store is just a customer who wants to feel safe, comfortable, and valued while spending their hard-earned money.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the end of the day, my wife and I aren\u2019t asking for special treatment, nor do we think we are better than anyone else,\u201d said Sheena. \u201cWe are just asking to be treated like everyday normal humans.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt all boils down to basic human decency and respecting another person\u2019s dignity, regardless of opinion, thought, or feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Salmon Arm couple urges businesses to put dignity before differences Published 5:30 pm Wednesday, August 26, 2026 By…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":872834,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194299],"tags":[49,48,87674],"class_list":["post-872833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-surrey","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-surrey"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=872833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/872833\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/872834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=872833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=872833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=872833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}