Every year people go in and out of stores in the biggest rush of their lives because they always have something else that needs to be done; it seems as though the to-do list is never ending. Each day businesses open up to the public, even if they may not want to, so citizens can get their stuff done, but what most people forget about is the people behind the counter.

Everybody gets so caught up in what they have to do, that they forget about the people who are helping them out. As a person who works in the service industry, this happens to me a lot more than I ever expected. Now don't get me wrong I love being able to help people and see the smile on their face's when I can make their day, it's the rude and inconsiderate people I have an issue with.

Luckily I work for a company that does observe Thanksgiving and Christmas so I get those two days off to spend with my family, but every other holiday isn't that way. When everybody is out spending time with their family and friends, I am working my butt off to make sure that they are able to do that. Again, I won't complain about the people who are appreciative of what I am doing and what sacrifices I have made to be there to help them, it's the people who aren't appreciative and think that they are the only people in the world.

The worst times for me have to be around Christmas when everybody is running around making last minute plans and getting mad when they can't be fully accommodated. In the restaurant that I work in, on Christmas Eve we are open from 11:00 A.M. until 3:00 P.M. In those few short hours we will send out thousands and thousands of dollars in barbecue to families. In those few short hours we will more than likely go on a 45 minute to an hour wait for ToGo food, run out of at least one side and one protein. This is where it starts to get fun... or not. Customers get upset that they have to wait in a line of people to pay and pickup their food, they are upset about the wait times on food, and sometimes the price. If there was something I could do to fix all od these problems, I would, but there is almost no way possible. With people who ordered their food weeks in advance, it would be rude to push back their pickup time because of somebody who waited until last minute and with the mass amounts of food leaving the kitchen, their is no way we could speed up the process and give the same quality if we tried cutting corners.

My favorite encounter has to be with a certain group of customers I had on Christmas Eve last year.

"How much longer is it going to be on my food ma'am? I have been here for 30 minutes and don't have much more time to waste here. My family is in town and I am not getting to spend time with them because I am here waiting. I don't get to see them often and I would like to at least see them before they leave, but if you keep going at the pace you are right now I won't be out of here until New Years."

Her rant went on and on for a couple of more minutes of her just repeating herself. As an employee I didn't know how to respond and thankfully I didn't have to, somebody else did it for me.

"Ma'am, do you realize what these people are doing for you? They are here so you can be here. They are here so you don't have to do the work. They are here not spending time with their families so you can get what you wanted. They are going as fast as the kitchen allows and quite frankly they didn't have to help you. They close in ten minutes and knew that your food wouldn't be ready, which the informed you of, until after closing, but it was so important that you get it for your family. So ma'am I suggest you apologize to the young ladies behind the counter because they are also the ones handling your food."

The lady who stood up for me and my coworkers will never understand the silent victory she gave us. We would have never been able to say anything like that and if we did I am not sure we would still have a job.

This holiday season, and every one here after, I just want people to remember that they are not the only ones with friends, family, and things to do. The people who help you at the grocery store, retail stores, restaurants, everywhere probably have somewhere they would love to be, but they are there to help you, so why not help them and not make everything about you.