Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Unfortunately, yes, many people feel entitled to treat service workers like dirt. It's part of the reason I'm glad I don't work in retail anymore.
When I was in retail, while at the register, I had to tell a customer to go "F" herself and don't ever come back because she is ban from that location. I don't get paid enough to put up with crap.
I try very hard to be courteous. My first "legit" jobs were fast food, then 3 different dry cleaning establishments, then I worked a car wash, then a mall job. I experienced the most rudeness in the dry cleaning places and the car wash.
Not to get too deeply analytical but many times I see people who are rude to service workers as having control issues in their own lives. The person who has a bossy and domineering spouse at home, for example, taking their pent up agression out on people with less power. It's sad and if you keep it in mind that this may be the only "power" this person has in their lives it can help you to see them as pitiful, and not take it personally.
Some people are just rude out of a sense of entitlement. My Grandmother, though I loved her dearly, was awful in this regard, to the point where we would often refuse to go out with her (shopping, dining) unless she promised to "be nice".
She just had a superiority complex. Her husband was an Air Force officer, then in later years an important person working at the Pentagon, and she saw herself as better by virtue of being his wife. They rubbed elbows with other "important people" and had fancy dinner parties and ran in uppity social circles and even after they moved back to Texas the attitude stuck.
I remember very clearly an incident when I was 7 or 8 years old and spending time with her. We were out shopping and there was a display in some upscale department store with mannequins in spring clothing and springtime "animals" included. Among those animals was a little stuffed lamb and I commented on it. Well, she decided then and there that I would have it. She made a ridiculous stink all the way up to management until someone agreed to sell her the display lamb!! She paid some outrageous amount for it and went through several clerks and assistant managers while standing her ground and insisting on getting her way. I remember being super embarrassed.
I am 41 years old, and I don't keep a lot of things from childhood, but you bet I kept that darned stuffed lamb!
Are people usually rude to people in service jobs?
They most definitely can be. And it is not necessary. I am always courteous to service staff as I used to work in th fast food and retail industries. I know the how it it feels to be on the receiving end of rude comments, actions, and/or general attitudes that suggest that I am less of a person because of what I did for work.
[i cringe when I hear others being rude to the 'staff']
When I was in retail, while at the register, I had to tell a customer to go "F" herself and don't ever come back because she is ban from that location. I don't get paid enough to put up with crap.
I'm sure if I worked retail, I would get myself fired within a day or two. If some irate customer started trashing me, I'd tell him where to stick it. There's no way I would last any length of time in that kind of work environment.
God bless anyone who can put up with those types of jobs.
I have worked my fair share of service type jobs while I was a teen and later during a period of unemployment. People tend to look down on those in the service industry. I figure those types of people have issues but it doesnt make it any easier dealing with them. I stopped going out to restaurants with my sister because she was so rude to waitstaff, then added a crappy tip to boot. Her reasoning, "It's not my fault they took a crappy job." There is a specific general attitude in our society though and its not pleasant.
My son isnt sure he wants to go on to college. He has been thinking of the trades, maybe HVAC. I told him to look up job ads to get a sense of the job market and pay, etc. One job was working at a major University in FL. In the job ad, there was specific terminology used on the responsibilities. My son wasn't sure what the ad meant so I read it. I can't remember word for word but the gist was, do not be seen. I could tell this really bothered him. Life lessons.
When I was in retail, while at the register, I had to tell a customer to go "F" herself and don't ever come back because she is ban from that location. I don't get paid enough to put up with crap.
Many years ago I was shopping with my Grandmother at Hudson's. We saw a white lady strutting around, who spilled the coffee she was carrying. She looked around and saw a black lady, and just assumed she was a cleaning lady. She walked over to the black lady and said "there's coffee spilled over there"......well, the black lady was another customer. The black lady said, oh, yes, I see that, thanks for letting me know. You should let a cleaning person know so they can take care of it". Dead silence while we all waited for the white lady to come up with a response. She just flounced off in a huff! I always remembered the class and dignity the black lady used. My Grandmother told me there's an example of how to behave in public, and how not to!
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
One time between seasonal jobs I worked as a cashier at Walmart. That experience really made me think about how I talk to people.
There is a specific general attitude in our society though and its not pleasant. 
