I would like to start by saying thank you. Thank you for coming into our business and sharing time out of your day with us. To those of you who have been patient with us over the holidays, you are a joy to serve. Thank you to the man who cracked a joke while I was rushing to ring you up. Thank you to the woman who stopped and asked me how I was doing while I was fumbling to get you back your change. You were both wonderful reminders that not all our patrons are difficult to serve and that good people were still coming through our doors. Thank you for reminding me that engaging in a conversation with customers makes both you and I more comfortable, and it also makes my job and your experience even more enjoyable.

Thank you to my regulars for coming in so often and reminding me that we must be doing something right to have gained your loyalty. Thank you for calling me “sweetheart” when I ring up “the usual” for you. Thank you for giving me a friendly face to look forward too when we hit a rush and get busy. I know you’ll understand if we get a little backed up, and for that I am forever grateful.

Thank you to our new customers, we love when you come in and complement our services and how nice our staff is. Thank you to the gentleman who was so thrilled to have found “a gem of place” to bring his family to. We love your words of encouragement and look forward to your next visit.

Thank you to the people who make our jobs easier by letting us know we are running low on supplies or that you are short an item. We strive to serve everyone as best we can, and we thank you for your kind words when we overlook something.

Thank you to the people who don’t look at us as lesser equals just because we work customer service. You are the people we talk warmly about on break.

However, if you have read this and felt like you haven’t connected with any of the characters I have described, please know we talk about you on break, too. We laugh at how angry you got when we got busy and how you complained about waiting. We laughed at how you complained about our prices like we had anything to do with it and then tried to negotiate with us. We laugh at you. You become and instant joke the moment you make a scene.

As a worker, I will always respect a customer because that is my job, but as a human being, if you treat me as though I am lower than you, you will have lost all respect I had for you. Please realize that we are working as many hours as we can pick up because most of us are living paycheck to paycheck, working our way up in the world. We are working hard because you deserve that much from us, so please understand that we deserve the same from you. Be kind during the holidays because everyone is overworked and stressed. Be kind every day because that is the right thing to do.

Thank you to everyone, kind and otherwise. Thank you to those who smile for making my job easier, and thank you to those who frown, for reminding me how not to treat fellow humans.

From our staff,
Thank you.