R-E-S-P-E-C-T, how little we r-e-c-e-i-v-e...

Hello my freaky darlings...

...and my not-so-freaky darlings, because this applies to many of you, too. How many of you work in customer service, or with the public as a rule? Yes, you know exactly where this is going. RESPECT! What happened to that simple concept? Why do people so arrogantly demand it from you, yet offer absolutely none in return? Who raised these people -- these haughty, assuming patrons that never once look you in the eye, cut you off while you are speaking to them, or otherwise refuse to listen to you at all? I literally had a 'guest' huff and half-exclaim, "Just let me GO," as though I wanted to harass him. I was simply doing my job to the letter. (Dead serious.) People like this slowly and surely turn sweet, endearing rookies into bitter, well-educated sailors.

It has long since been a personal conviction of mine that every single person entering the work force should start in fast food and remain there for a bare-minimum of one year – right there at the counter, where the guests want it then and there, and he or she better be smiling, because if the server is not smiling, then he or she is being horrifically rude and should be fired immediately. That is what "Customer Service" is all about, right? People will never know what the minimum-wage slave is going through until they personally experience it for themselves. They will continue on their way with their tactless behavior, even teaching it to their children so that they believe that this treatment of others is not only okay, but even expected. That is just, plain wrong.

I recently had a guest who had his two boys and young daughter with him. This sweet little girl could be no older than six, with some allowance money in her tiny fist, and her father was teaching her how to buy things and how to conduct herself while doing so. She put the trinket on the counter, I told them the total, and she counted her money with her father's assistance. She laid it out for me, but he stopped her, telling her that, "you should always hand your money to the cashier directly into their hand, because people who just lay it on the counter are lazy and rude. You should never be rude." I was mouthing "thank you" to this man, and told him how much faith in humanity he had restored in me. He simply told me that he had been in customer service in his youth, and knew what it felt like to have rude guests like that. He wanted to be sure that his kids knew how to treat others, because it sucks when it’s you on the other side of the counter.

So, those of you who think that your waitress or associate or who have you is an unfeeling robot/verbal punching-bag, please get a part-time job. After your year of servitude is over, go to every establishment you have ever been to and apologize to the employees. (Even the ones that you did not mouth off to, because they are all in the same boat.) When you know their peculiar suffering, you will feel sorry.

If you are the poor, underpaid civilian that I speak of, keep on trooping. It would be shameful if you give up just because someone takes their temper out on you (a few hundred times). That person is petty; do not let their bad day become your bad six months. It is NOT worth it. Do what I do: smile just a tad too big, tell them to have a great day, and invite them back. You will never know if that would be the one thing they needed to hear or not, so endeavor to make everyone’s day a little better. This will not always work, and often results in wasted efforts; however, you should still take pride in it, because if you refuse to be put down and carry on your merry way, most guests will see it, and they will (at least) have a grudging respect for you.

It is rather pathetic that we have people like that on this planet.

So, make sure, no matter what you do for a living, that you treat everyone with civil respect. You are as unaware of their grief as they are of yours. Your simple kindness may be the very thing they need to witness as encouragement to be kind to others themselves.
Author's note: Sorry if this is a bit huffy. I will try to be writing a note for you all at the end for my posts. This will mostly be whatever I have on repeat all week or a song that relates to the post in some way. For this one, it's Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones. For obvious reasons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a7cHPy04s8



Thank you and have a great day!!!