What's Going on Here?

It's not often that I run across blatant sexism anymore.  I ran across a lot of it 30 or so years ago, but there is less of it now.

Recently, I had a company come out to give us an estimate to replace the gutters on the house.  I didn't call one of those fly by night companies that knocks on your front door to give you an estimate because "someone down the street" is getting work done.  I called one that advertises heavily on the radio in the DC Metro area.

The guy walked into the house, looked around and asked "Where's your husband?"

"I am in charge of home maintenance.  Please, sit, and tell me about your gutters."

So, he begins to tell me all about his product.  He tells me that his product is superior because they have the longest, strongest screws in the business.  He shows me this 5 inch long screw that they screw through the gutters and into the soffit.  He then shows me the screw that "his competitors" use.  I hold up the screws next to each other, and the actual milled part of the screw - you know, the part that goes into the wood and has the inclined plane wrapped around the center - is the same length on both screws.  I pointed this out to him, and he replied "but our screws are stronger than theirs".

So I asked him, "are your screws poured or forged?" (Logical question, right?)

He stares at me for a minute and then says "What's really going on here?  Women never ask questions about construction.  Am I being punked?  Where is your husband?"

Before I get a chance to throw him out, the dude calls his supervisor and says "Something's going on here.  The husbands' not here, and she's asking all the questions.  This just isn't for real."

I heard the boss say something on  his end, and he ended the conversation.

As he hung up the phone, I stood up and thanked him for his time.

He left, and never even bothered to place a follow up call.  (Not that I would have bought anything from him.)  I guess he really didn't need the sale that badly after all.

Honest to goodness, can you believe that this kind of thinking still exists today?