stopbarkingmocha:

theconcealedweapon:

iopele:

novelconcepts:

I don’t want to live any longer in this world of “the customer is always right.” This is a world that shows the aggressive, the bull-headed, the cruel that they have full license to behave like beasts to get what they want. Half the time, they’re even rewarded for it; “here, ma’am, so sorry for the trouble, please accept this gift card–no charge.”

I want to live in a world that punishes these childish adults as you punish a toddler throwing a tantrum. No candy for you, Jimmy; you’re going home to bed if you can’t mind yourself in public.

Throw a hissy fit because your cashier isn’t moving as fast as you’d like? Find yourself gently escorted from the store until you can show some basic compassion and patience.

Hurl a pen across the table at your signing agent? You’ve just forfeited your right to refinance your mortgage this week. Try again when your temper is managed.

Scream obscenities at the Taco Bell rep because you know it’ll earn you a free soft shell? Here’s your money back; please feel free to play again when you’ve realized fast food is not worth more than the price of human dignity.

I am so sick of accepting–and, in truth, rewarding–these callous behavior patterns in customer service industries. The fact is, the customer is not always right. The customer is often just testing to see what he can get away with. Stop pandering to spoiled children, and show your employees they have more value than their red polo, or how much abuse they can withstand in a 40-hour week.

We are here to provide a service and to make a living.

We are not your punching bags.

seems like the right time of year to bring this back around

Children are often punished for things that adults are rewarded for.

A counterargument that I often see from conservatives or just older people in general is that not doing the “The Customer is Always Right” dance equates to diminishing personal freedoms. Which misses the point entirely. No one is saying that abusing service workers should amount to jail time, although I actually do believe in a good amount of cases it should.

What we’re saying is that as a society, we should value kindness and not tolerate rudeness and abuse. You don’t get to participate in the marketplace and you don’t get to have the service you want, which is more about social norms and mores than it is about legal ones. And social rules are far more effective than legal ones as a whole.

Anyway, that’s a sidebar. Treat people like people, like they deserve.