I get it, we all have those days. That's just it, though. We ALL have those days. I work as a customer service representative getting by paycheck to paycheck - I have a lot of those days.

Look, I love people, but we're (yes, I'm guilty as well,) seriously a load of assholes sometimes. As a representative of the company, we take a lot of the flack of said companies in the form of calls and in-house complaints. Don't get me wrong, more often than not customers are lovely, but over the years I've witnessed and experienced a lot.

1. Be courteous.

Believe it or not, being kind and polite will likely get you better service. My ritual when a customer walks in the door is to greet them and ask how they are. It tends to make people more comfortable and less likely to silently glare at you while you work - it works both ways!

Here's a good list of morning rituals to help with customer service success.

2. Be patient.

As a CSR, our main goal is to get the customer taken care of and satisfied in a timely manner. I promise, we are trying. Keeping calm and collected helps you AND me, by lowering the stress and maintaining it at a minimum.

3. Be understanding.

SHIT. HAPPENS.

We have rough days as well, and may not always be our best, but everyone does. Understanding this will open your eyes on how to treat others.

4. Be attentive.

Besides being important in everyday life, being attentive is key to having a good experience in a business situation. Often, businesses may have notices on protocol and things of that sort posted around the rooms or on their websites. It really, really sucks when something has to be redone, thrown out, or refunded completely, because a customer failed to pay attention.

5. HAVE RESPECT.

This is a big one for me, can you tell?

You can walk around town, mad at the world and everyone in it, but as soon as you step into a business, you should treat everyone in there the way that you would want to be treated.

That goes for conversation, as well. Too many times have I been harassed at work by 'innocent' men. Men that I have to see and talk to almost every day. Please keep in mind that even if you are comfortable enough to ask personal and or inappropriate questions, DOES NOT, by any means, mean that we are comfortable with you asking them, or answering them for that matter. We have to be nice to you - our jobs are on the line - so just stop.

Keeping these five things in mind while handling business as a customer, or really anyone, will almost always get you better service. If nothing else - it earns you mutual respect.