Dear Any and All Who Found Themselves Yelling at Waitstaff, Retail Workers, or even the Starbucks Barista this holiday season:

You know who you are. Maybe it was Black Friday and the store you went into ran out of the item you wanted. Or maybe you went out to eat on Thanksgiving, or Christmas and the service was a little bit slow. During these experiences something did not go "your way," and that was not okay. Instead of politely sending cold food back or ordering the item you wanted online--you got mad. It didn't matter whose fault it was, or even if it was anyones fault at all--someone was gonna pay for whatever mistake was made, and they were gonna pay.

Not only did you think "I work hard for my money, and I paid for this so it should be right" but you, for some reason, felt that because the store ran out of your size, your meal wasn't as hot as you would have liked it to be, or the hostess didn't sit you at a window seat, you now have the right to scream like a five-year-old child. Especially because "It's the holiday season so this experience needs to be perfect" and "it's my job."

I personally work as a hostess, and have for almost two years. While I do love my co-workers, and generally my job, working from Thanksgiving to New Year's is, ironically, honestly the hardest time to work in service. I've worked two holiday seasons and I can attest that the so-called season of giving is a myth. Customers get even WORSE during the Holidays, and I wish I knew why.

So this letter is to the adult woman I saw throw a temper-tantrum at 8:30 in the morning over whether or not the bar should be opened to make her a special kind of mixed drink. Or to the family who were angry that they had to wait to be seated, just like everyone else, because they are too good to wait. Or maybe to the woman who called me a bitch in front of her eight-year-old child. Or maybe, it is to all those who work in service, who need time to remember that they are people too, and not punching bags.

Signed,

The Service Industry