I think a bigger statement here is that nobody is _entitled_ to anything.
We have an informal agreement that you shouldn't hit on service workers because essentially they can't escape the situation gracefully, but that agreement is not bilateral because as a customer you generally do have the freedom to be up front or let it pass.
Obviously there are shades of grey to everything, and by no means am I excusing all behaviour, but the power dynamic is in favour of the client not the worker, and if you're respectful of the individual then I don't see why it should be stigmatic to approach someone.
For context I've had waitresses give me their number, and that was just nice, no expectation that I have to reply and no repercussions if I didn't (as-in, they didn't have a means to berate me for not replying). But, yeah, shades of grey.
Even though I was a professional software engineer at the time, I was also a part time fitness instructor for over a decade. I even taught at women’s only gyms. I was really careful about not approaching anyone in my class - for the most part, women do not want to be approached at the gym - especially a women’s only gym, they go there specifically not to be bothered.
On a slightly tangential note women only gyms are the only place where some observant Muslim women could work out in comfortable clothing.
In the context of a lyft/uber it's a bit different; it would not only be socially awkward but also usually make me late (and possibly even dangerous) to stop the ride halfway through and exit.
It's not the case (thankfully) that I've felt my safety is in danger in these situations... it's just annoying.
Dating is all about risk. If you can't hit on your client, then what about the person at the grocery store? What about at the DMV? What about on the street?
If we eliminate flirting from all the places it's unacceptable, then there wouldn't be any more flirting at all. Considering it's generally the man's responsibility to initiate (cultural standards, not my own, I would love if women took this responsibility), this really just negatively affects men and not women, furthering the inequality in dating.
Some places you should not flirt. I’m not flirting with a client. They are there to conduct business. Like I said above, I was a part time fitnesses instructor and occasional personal trainer. I would never even think about flirting with a client when I was single. I definitely wouldn’t flirt with a subordinate.
I always told myself not to flirt with a coworker (don’t mess where you eat), but I met my now-wife at my job, but by the time we started dating I knew the company was on its last leg so I said what the heck?
It was slightly hard dating in my 20s, it was even harder in my mid 30s after being divorced, I can’t imagine dating at 40+ if I were single again.
Flirting with a co-worker is still very inappropriate though, to some people. It's risky and there are no clear rules, which really sucks for men if they're expected to initiate.
In my case, what was the worse that could happen? They were going to fire me? I was doing presentations for potential buyers of the company. I knew we didn’t have more than two month’s runway left. If I had thought I was risking a long career at the company I might have been more careful.
