It's a kindergarten rule—one of the golden rules. If I remember correctly, it ranks just beneath “keep your hands and feet to yourself” in the Honor Pledge poster. It is to “treat others the way you want to be treated.” This rule is supposed to teach us empathy, appreciation, and understanding for our fellow human.
This social grace and ethical behavior is readily practiced in almost every situation EXCEPT TO CUSTOMER SERVICE WORKERS.
And there is the crux of my tirade.
Every customer service employee works hard, long hours, and feels immensely under-appreciated, and most likely are. Every customer service employee has a life outside of work, and is counting the hours of their shift until they go back to their lives.
Every customer service employee is a person, and, although that might seem like an obvious observation to point out, many, many customers don't seem to remember that.
You know who you are.
In my short, but harrowing, few years in customer service, I've dealt with many different customers in different jobs and different settings. However, most of the rudest, most despicable characters fall into specific categories. I even recognize myself in a few of them. These categories are as follows:
The Crazy Coupon Collectors (CCC)
In the midst of your shift, they often appear in the form of a “sweet lil' ole lady.” Most are regular customers. Your coworkers all know them by name, your manager respects them, and your boss tells you they are “long term loyalists of the brand." But underneath their candy wrapper persona lies danger. Danger in the form of an expired 20% off coupon from 2007 that you are somehow supposed to honor even though the company will lose money, but, conversely, this customer will definitely fill out the customer service survey and call you out BY NAME AND THREATEN YOUR LIFE (and your job).
The “Just-Lookers”
Now, I preface this category by saying there is nothing wrong with window shopping, nor is there anything wrong with hovering around for the free food samples. I am the number one culprit of that. However when you say "just looking" but you are literally DESTROYING THE ENTIRE FOLDED CLOTHING DISPLAY TO FIND A PAIR SIZE 6 SHORTS THAT YOU WILL NOT BUY—that makes me a little perturbed. And, please, please, PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE A PILE OF PROM DRESSES IN THE FITTING ROOM. (See “The Dining-room Destroyers” for further information.)
The Nostalgic Price-checker.
The times are changing. It is 2015, and what a time it is to be alive! But as those times change, so do the prices. Ya know, inflation and all that stuff you were supposed to learn in your economics class. Whatever the cause, there is absolutely nothing I can do to change the price back to what it was in 1979. Yes, I will empathize and nod my head acknowledging that the price of movie popcorn is extremely overpriced, and of course I agree it's preposterous to charge that much for adding guacamole. But don't try to guilt me or yell at me about something I have no part in. I am nothing but a humble and fantastically dressed messenger.
The Hate-to-Waiters
Okay, okay. I know you're hungry. I really do. I see you waiting in line, and I swear to you, if I could magically cook your food with a zap of my finger, I'd read all the Harry Potter books I'd have to in order to provide you optimal customer satisfaction. But alas I am just a muggle, so you're gonna have to wait. Please don't take me aside and angrily question me about the state of your grilled chicken sandwich. This is not the Spanish Inquisition, and it will just make me cry over your already salty fries, and nobody wants that.
The Dining-room Destroyers
It begins as an absentminded discarding of a straw wrapper or a napkin. It begins as not putting a shirt on the right hanger. Then it manifests into my living nightmare. I am not an insane neat-freak, and I understand that it's not you're problem that I have to clean that after you, and it shouldn't be your problem. However, blatantly making a mustard stained mess DELIBERATELY after you watched me clean the ENTIRE FLOOR TWO SECOND AGO makes me incredible sad. Especially considering the fact that when I take off my hat, I'm the same chick you try to flirt with in class.
Ultimately, I think that's what gets me the most. Not the fact that there are rude customers out there, because that's life, I guess. What gets to me is, through working on campus, the people who are rude to me or insult my coworkers are also the people who call me their friend or acquaintance when I'm at a party. That's what makes me angry. That and the group of kids that come in literally TWO MINUTES BEFORE WE CLOSE.
