Since I was 17, I have worked numerous jobs- all of which had to do with serving people in some sort of way. I have met many people from all walks of life and I have seen and experienced quite a lot from working these jobs. I have worked in the fast-food industry, in the restaurant business, retail, at a historic theatre and I have been a teacher and camp counselor. You can definitely say I know a thing or two about working for and with people. A part of me is always thankful for having these opportunities, but another teeny tiny part of me hates that I have to help and/or serve people who are unkind to me and are obscenely rude. This article is dedicated to those selfish and nasty customers that I have had the unfortunate luck to cross paths with.

I want to start off by asking, do customers realize that we are people too? If you have ever met me, you would know that I have a very charmingly cheerful, up-beat and happy-go-lucky personality. I am most certainly a “people person.” Even though I have these strengths, I am also extremely sensitive. If a customer is rude to me and treats me unfairly, I start immediately apologizing and will most likely run to the bathroom and cry my eyes out; even if I wasn’t in the wrong. Most people don’t realize that we are serving them because we need to. It’s our responsibility to make sure you are as content as can be, but when you treat us nastily from the get-go it makes our jobs a lot harder to bear. Sure there are days when we come into work not feeling our best, but just know we are TRYING and you coming at me with an attitude IS NOT going to make us want to work harder than we already are for you. In fact, it makes me extremely aggravated that I even have to be in your hateful presence. I distinctly remember going to work (I was a waitress at the time) THE DAY after my grandfather passed away. I was running to a corner or the bathroom every 10 minutes sucking up the tears and waiting on customers. Most were kind, but some were not so kind. Obviously they didn’t know what had happened because why should they? It’s my personal life. Although we don’t always show it, please know that we have lives outside of our workplaces. We work very long hours to make our living. So give us a break.

We understand if you had a bad day at your job and you just want a hot cup of coffee and a slice of apple pie, TRUST US. But that doesn’t mean you have to make our time at work bad too! We understand if you are frustrated that you were stuck in traffic and that’s what made you late to the show. We are trying to seat you as fast and as orderly as possible, don’t take your frustration out on us. We understand if you are rushing to a big meeting and you are waiting 10 minutes in the drive-thru line. Note: Fast food isn’t always fast. We cannot snap our fingers and throw it at you- so think twice before you throw your money at me and yell at me in the booth while another customer is screaming their order at me through my headset. We totally get that the shirt you were looking for is out of stock, we will try our best to find you a similar one. We understand you aren’t happy that your child doesn’t understand the lesson we are teaching. We will try another approach.

Please for the love of God; do not take things that we cannot avoid out on us. Life happens. So order your Penne Vodka with Medium-Rare cooked steak on top and your glass of Pinot Grigio and RELAX. If you need something, we can kindly give it to you as long as you are kind to us. Tell us you don’t want onions and pickles on your Big Mac, we will do it for you without a problem. Ask me to put the shirt you like on hold politely and I’ll have it for you when you are ready to pay for it. I will GLADLY take you to your paid seat even if you are an hour late to the show.If you have any advice or pointers for me, I will happily take it. Just give me kindness and I’ll give it back ten-fold. Also: think twice before you snap your fingers at me and wave your arms in the air because you want another strawberry milkshake. Thank you.