I am not always the most pleasant company to keep while hungry. In fact, I’ve been known to turn into an absolute monster if kept from sustenance for too long. Several months ago, my boyfriend and I chose to eat at a Chinese restaurant for lunch after spending an incredible amount of time dorm shopping at Target. It was an unbelievably hot day, the line at Target had been too long, I had spent more money than intended, I was tired after a night of little to no sleep, and on top of that I was absolutely starving. My boyfriend and I were seated by a smiley, young waitress and given menus to glance over as usual. We began to bicker about something irrelevant. The smiley waitress approached our table after several minutes to take our order, however my boyfriend and I were still bickering. I snapped.

“Could you just give us a minute?” My tone was hostile and disrespectful. I had completely taken out my frustration on the smiley waitress that simply wanted to take my order. I knew immediately that what I had done was wrong. I apologized and tipped her well. Although I had admitted my wrongdoing, my words and actions most likely affected the waitress more than I could have ever imagined.

I’ve worked several jobs in customer service over the past few years and I’ve run across many customers that have taken out their anger and frustration on my coworkers and I. I can say from experience that unnecessary customer hostility can not only ruin an entire work day, but also make the customer service worker question their own capability to perform their job correctly. When customers were hostile towards me I often asked myself, “Why aren’t I good at my job?” I try my best to remember that feeling when I am out shopping or eating in a restaurant. I never want to be the cause of self doubt in a customer service employee. While it is the job of customer service employees to provide friendly and knowledgeable service, please understand that it is not the job of customer service employees to act as your punching bag or target to relieve the current stress in your life. It isn’t fair to expect respect if respect is not also given to the employee.

Try to be kind and friendly when visiting a location that provides customer service. A respectful customer is often a breath of fresh air in the busy, tiring day of a customer service employee. I remember absolutely loving customers who took the time to make me feel appreciated not only as an employee, but as a person. It made me feel as though I was performing my job to the best of my capability and ensured that I left work with a smile on my face at the end of the night. So please, offer respect to the next person who takes your order, bags your groceries, or asks you if you need any help with your purchase. It will be much, much appreciated.