I will always believe that everyone's first job should be in retail or in the food industry. I have come across way too many people who have no respect for these workers. Most of them are over worked and under paid. Some customers just have no patience and compassion for the job that the worker is trying to get done. If more people started off working in retail or in the food industry, they'll have more of an open mind when visiting these places themselves.

When working in retail or the food industry, you improve your communication skills. I used to be super shy when meeting someone new. I have also witnessed many co-workers just barely say "hi" to a customer, let alone try to have a conversation. Eventually as time goes on, conversations begin to flow and the shyness goes out the window. I used to be terrified to make phone calls and avoided it whenever possible but after working as a hostess and having making and receiving phone calls be part of my job, I became confident. Being thrown into situations really broke me out of my comfort zone which I will always appreciate.

Being a hostess in a restaurant for two years has given me the opportunity to not only learn about myself but learn about other people. I have learned about how to diffuse situations and work under pressure because when a rush hits and guests get impatient, it can be hectic.This is when my opinion about customer service being everyone's first job became solid. Some people have no patience with the workers and assume that we're not looking out for the guest's interest. While our job is to make their experience as pleasant as possible, it is unfair to us if this customer begins to not trust the worker. I have dined out with my family where we were told to wait for some time. Someone I was with began to point out the tables available but being a hostess and understanding, I realized that the workers have a plan and for us to barge in and ASSUME makes us look bad. If everyone started with this as their first job, they'll become patient, understanding, and thoughtful to situations.

Blaming the workers for something that we have no control over is also something that needs to end. There have been numerous amounts of times when a customer blames a server for not being able to modify something the way they like or when a restaurant doesn't have valet. A cashier does not deserve to be yelled at because the customer's coupons didn't go through. The rules are set up the way they are and you cannot blame the worker because they just work there. It's as if people who complain about not getting their way were always given everything on a silver platter. Life lessons get thrown at you from every direction.

If you have worked in one of these industries, you know very well that the saying "the customer is always right" is not correct. The customer is not always right. I have had customers abuse that saying and turn it into something that was very dishonest and greedy. Not everything is going to go your way and that's okay.

Working in these industries give you a look at the behind the scenes to how stores are ran. If you start off working in retail or the food industry, when you shop or dine at a certain location, you'll have an idea of why things happen the way they do and they teach you skills you'll carry with you forever.