Since I started working when I was sixteen, I have worked in several different customer service positions. I worked in fast food when I first started, then I began waiting tables, and now I work in two different call centers.
Working in customer service is something a lot of us have done, especially when it comes to summer jobs in high school and/or college. So why is it that if most of us have had that customer service experience in our teen years at least, so many people are so mean and totally not understanding towards customer service employees?
Customer service employees do what they do, to HELP YOU!
The people who go to work everyday to serve the public food, ring up items at a cash register, or answer your questions at a phone center are essential to our daily lives. Without these people, what would we do? If no one wanted to wait tables, we would never be able to go out to eat with our families. If no one wanted to work at a cash register, stock the shelves, and clean up the stores we shop in, we would not be able to shop for essentials or luxury items.
Many of you are probably thinking, "Well, we don't need people to work in stores, there is self-checkout and Amazon is a thing, too."
Aha, you have not outsmarted me! Customer service representatives work for Amazon, too. If you order something from Amazon and it is broken, what do you do? You call Amazon's customer service department.
Now, you're still trying to defend the self-checkout idea, aren't you? Did you think about the people who stock the shelves and clean up after you at the stores in which you shop at? Those people are customer service employees, too.
Those who stock shelves may do their job at night, but not always. I have seen grocery store stockers working during open hours, rushing to make sure what we need is available to us. Plus, I am sure you've asked these people questions, haven't you? Well, my friend, that is customer service.
Customer service employees deserve respect, nothing less.
Now that I have proved that customer service employees are essential, let me explain the type of disrespect these people endure on a daily basis.
Waiters and waitress that serve you and your family/friends deserve nothing less than an 18% tip and really, they always deserve 20%, let's be real. They bust their ass to serve you your meal and their wage is not livable. When I was a waitress, my wage was $3.60. I cannot count the number of times someone left pocket change or nothing at all on the table after they finished their meal.
Those working on phone lines to help you with a product or service do not deserve to be yelled at. These people go to work every day to answer your call when you need help, so do not yell at them - they are trying to help you.
Those working in fast food bust their ass at minimum wage for you to be able to eat french fries. Do not yell at them when you clearly see a long line.
It makes me uneasy that people can be so rude to those who go to work to help them.
It is unfair. It is almost as if people think customer service employees are non-elite or do not deserve respect. That concept is funny, as I do not know how many people I have heard talk about working in a fast food joint or serving tables during summer break when they were younger.
You would think more people would understand what is like working in these customer service positions. I think that it is important that we work together as a whole to start respecting customer service employees!