Before you obtain your first job, no one tells you that there are people out there who either 1) do not care for how their actions/expressions may affect others or 2) simply do not realize that their behavior is atrocious. Here are a few things you learn once you become exploited to customer service:
1. Not everyone says please and thank you;
Nor do they even look at you as a fellow human being as they bark monosyllabic orders with little to no focus to their waiter/waitress. Not everyone understands that even simple eye contact makes a difference. The rude awakening I experienced in learning so allowed me to grow internally; although customer service is about providing customers with what they ask and doing what is necessary to surpass their expectations, there is no reason to change one's personality.
Being a server causes you to convince yourself that you are a restaurant service connoisseur and in my experiences, one of the conclusions I have come to is that my favorite and most memorable experiences are ones in which the experience feels less formal. The servers that provide a comfortable dining experience but without forcing a connection are the best ones, in my opinion. Not only does it make experiences less awkward but it reminds customers that their waiter or waitress is another person, just like them.
2. Some people will go out of their way to get what they want
And it is going to be over nothing. If a store offers a discount that lacks detailed explanations about exclusions that may apply, there are people who will argue with (or scold rather) workers until they are in tears, solely to receive that additional $1 discount.
Honestly, there's nothing you can do to teach someone that their desires may be extreme or absurd, so the best way to go about this lesson is to simply deal with it. It makes you a stronger person and allows you to value kindness on a deeper level.
3. The extreme lack of respect that exists
Don't get me wrong, there are so many kind people in the world. There are people who leave grandiose tips to their server, simply for being a genuine soul. There are people who try their best to make workers' jobs as easy as possible, but then there are the people who leave any inkling of respect at the business entrance. If a restaurant runs out of a particular menu item, there is no reason to scold the hostess greeting customers at the door. The fact that one was looking forward to something specific may result in an unpleasant vibe, but the 16 year old girl responsible for saying "welcome," "thank you," and "enjoy your evening" has no control over the lack of prime rib in the steakhouse.
This seems like something that should be commonly understood, yet in my three and a half years of working at a restaurant, it has become evident to me that people can be just that selfish about their personal desires. Again, there's not much you can do in reaction to such behavior but move on and remember that what comes around, goes around.
4. Not every manager is looking to help you
In my personal experience, I have met a great deal of supervisors who hope to do nothing but help me, both professionally and personally. Professionally, most of them implement some sort of incentives program, and personally, if I need someone to talk to about personal concerns, whether relevant to work or not, many managers are personable enough to be there without crossing any professional lines. Judgment of a manager's attitudes and intentions always varies person to person, and of course can be biased depending on the subordinate's level of work performance as well, but as a student studying human resources, quite a few issues have come to my attention.
In my very first job, I was the youngest employee and also one of the only female employees that did not have children. As a result, I was always scheduled to close late nights, even though I was a junior in high school. On slow days, I would be sent home first, regardless of how recently I had arrived, which took a toll on my hours. Yeah, as a high school student, I didn't have many financial responsibilities to worry about, but looking back four years later, I realize how unethical my supervisors behaved. In addition, the position was competitive as it was in sales, but I had a few supervisors who did not hesitate to swoop in and steal a customer from me, supervisors who were well aware that I was young and feared upsetting my superiors and took advantage of my vulnerability.
That being said, it's important to stand up for yourself. I, myself, did not realize this until much later, but no job is worth being the victim to an abuse of power, no matter how harmless or severe the abuse may be.
With that being said, you may encounter some of the most awful people you will ever meet with a job in customer service, but you also meet people who can touch your life, even if you only encounter them on a single occasion.
