I get sick quite often because crew and customers come to eat or work sick. I think I have more nice customers than the rude ones. This old senior was rude. I got my boss, he was rude to her as well. He wanted free things without a purchase. He thought he was entitled and privileged. Seniors tend to think that when they rudely ask for a senior drink. "I get a free drink?!" No, you ask like this: "May I please have a senior drink?" So many elderly people are rude about it.

Lifes rough out there... it is what it is... its that way at high paying jobs... i was a utility foreman. I made good money but I basically worked for all foreman, secretaries, any prick trying to suck up to his boss. The security. Note: You got bullshit at every level. I try to be nice to all people. But i want to inform you that low wage jobs aren't the only jobs with bullshit. High paying jobs catch hell too.

Wow your experiences sound horrendous, sorry you've been through that. I'm not sure if people are that bad in the UK and Australia. I've found most people ok and just a few getting too personal in Australia. Or maybe that's just me. (Also you can bar them or stop serving them if you're in a pub, which is great!)

Yeah I worked retail..people are dicks generally..with an occasionally nice customer..

This my dear is why I said fuck it to retail a long time ago.

A couple of years back in Asda (the UK branch of Walmart), I saw a customer who wasn't looking where she was going push her trolley into one of the shopfloor workers. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said - and then looked down her nose at him and added "What am I apologising to you for? You're just a shop assistant."

Fortunately, as a customer, I was in a position to tell her she ought to be ashamed.

Wow was just thinking of how unrealistic that is to the customers. Think that an employer would encourage a sick employees to seek medical care rest etc so that the employee could give the customers the best treatment in hope of repeated business.

Worked a lot of customer service jobs too. Reading your post reminds me of Ehrenreich's book 'Nickel and Dimed' . Even in Florida there's got to be something better. I know Florida's a right to work (for less) state but there has to be some jobs with union representation. I definitely know what you're going through. Take care. With you in the struggle.

I couldn't agree more. You are right in all you comments. I see this every day. I deal with it every day. I am in customer service but I wouldn't say that I am the best example of how to do it. I will push back on these rude and ignorant (for whatever reason) people who are usually entitled and self centered and that of course only encourages them to continue their attacks. I am not a mean person but I will stand up for myself and that has earned me the title of 'that mean lady'. Standing up for oneself = mean!!! A title that I am quite happy to own. I am fortunate in that my boss (business owner) while valuing the customer does not expect the worker to have to tolerate rudeness from customers. I am thankful that most of my customers are respectful and appreciative of my help. Lastly my co-workers, in the retail industry, are some of the most decent, hardest working people I know or have known.

I support a living wage.

To address the rest of your post; I think that the way people treat service workers in any industry reflects on their character not the service.

I don't know how I compare to other customers in that department, but I don't know that in the two restaurants that I frequent, my drinks always get refilled quickly and my food is served very quickly. Of course, I still wait during rush periods, but not as long as most.

I've also encountered my fair share of mistakes on the part of service providers, but I try to keep in mind that we all fuck up sometimes, and if you treat people like human beings they will quickly fix things most of the time.

This! I've had a man raise his cane at me, been called a liar too many times to list, been waved over, fingers snapped at me, etc. All manner of comments and hand gestures intended to humiliate me by bullies that know they can get away with it.

In the past, men have "accidently" touched my ass and/or breasts, grab me by the arm or shoulder to keep me where they want me. make comments about how I must be in bed.

And I am expected to not only tolerate it but actually fucking thank them for shopping there. Half the time, the store management is treating the female staff the same damn way.

Very little you said that I disagree with, I am a strong supporter of a livable minimum wage and against the use of multiple part time employees to fill fulltime jobs. As an employer in a business where customer service is important, I expect my employees to be curious, polite and friendly but, I expect them to speak out is a customer behave poorly if they don't then they can expect disciplinary attaction as it is an OHS violation not to.

"Then they should have gotten an education so they don't have to work there."

J/K; you told the story of my adult life. And someone is always going to have to do those jobs; it's not fair to attach shame to them.

Sometimes when I talk to someone quite younger than me I find myself saying, "back in the old days" and I hated when I was young when they said that to me. But it was better back in the 50's and 60's. My first real job in 1965 was at a chain grocery store stocking shelves $1.75 hr., it was a union job minimum wage was $1.35! People earned a very livable wage then. Anti-unionism to me has strangled our wage earners and thus ridiculous wages of today.

Thankfully Canada has universal healthcare and an almost decent minimum wage, approx.$11/hr, it differs by province. Still too much of what you say is on the nose. I worked over 25yrs in the service industry, from busboy to manager and saw verbal, physical and mental abuses by customers and employers that would shock most people not familliar with the industry. From cooks that would wager each night which of them could make a waitress cry first, to employers making servers wait for up to 3 hours, without pay, then sending them home because it didn't get busy enough. If you complained, your shifts were cut or you were simply let go. Lots more where you came from. My best advice to anyone in the industry is this: Be polite, courteous, helpful and attentive. Do your best to provide the highest level of service you can, but don't forget to respect yourself and don't allow anyone to disrespect you. You have value even when others don't or won't see it.

I am pretty sure if I had to work in 'customer service' the phrase "I will cut you" would be my name tag....I did work in as a 7-11 clerk back in the late 80's for a brief amount of time....but, during my shift, I called it an inconvenience store....when regulars walked in, I greeted them with either a 'whadaya want now?' or 'not you again'. New customers got a 'buy at your own risk'. The owner was the worst....a drunken 5' tall texan who had so many DUI's that his 7-11 eventually lost it's license..but the benefit was that he said,"Don't put up with no shit...if a customer is causing a problem, kick him out...it's not like we will run out of customers..."...haha! Rowdy Roddy Piper was a semi-regular....he got the 'not you again'....haha...he was awesome.

I work customer service in Scottsdale (aka SNOTSdale). It seems like the people with the most money are the cheapest sons of bitches out there, and want something fo nothing. I am always polite, and will bend over backwards for a nice customer. But if someone is an ass? I'll do as little for them as possible. The customer is NOT always right, and I never allow someone to treat me like shit.

I've declined second and third dates with people who treated service workers like crap. It's very telling about their character and I ain't got time for it.

Wish I had found this when I first replied.

That is really sad. I always try to be respectful of service workers. My ex-wife was a waitress and a store clerk for a while, and she helped to see what they go through.

I spent most of my working life in customer service. Your post is spot on.

As young people my older siblings all worked in restaurants.
I have never forgotten their experiences. I also never did that because I knew with my temper I'd knock someone's block off if they pinched me.
I worked in the cafeteria in college - but was behind a counter! lol

Even working reception this kind of crap happens. People don't get it?
That person is just representing a company - it's way higher up then them.

That could be YOU standing there taking the abuse.

I actually got a cashier recently who had just been the brunt of someone's displeasure - and I just listened to her and acknowledged she wasn't crazy and the person had been rude.

It's not that hard to be nice. People need to figure this out?

I used to work for a municipal government. There were some good things about it, for sure. But, it was also like wearing a target on your back! I left. Now I'm a teacher. Hmm, something strangely familiar.......

How people treat clerks etc is possibly the best indication of character I know. Even if service help aren't at their best, I assume they are having a shitty day for whatever reason and it's even more important to treat them with dignity and respect. We're all in this together.

Though only addressing a part of this it means a lot to me. I & most of my family has worked in sales or customer service often over the years, including retail & food service. One of the biggest indicators for me, when on a date, is how my date responds to & treats the wait staff or the clerks in a store. If she flings attitude & rudeness instead of empathy, that will be a final date.