Working through the pandemic, especially in food service, has made me think about this topic. And everywhere I go, every app I log into, I always see phrases like “be kind, it’s free” or “it’s easy to be nice.” I’ve worked at an ice cream shop for five years and I’ve heard just about every complaint and have received all types of attitudes. As the worker, you have to be nice to the customer no matter what. Even if the customer’s giving you all the attitude in the world, you always have to smile and nod and kill them with kindness.
I’m not sure if it’s because I’m a blunt person or because I like to stand up for myself but in certain situations being mean to a customer is the first and easiest thing that comes to mind. Don’t get me wrong, seeing the customer get even more irritated because you’re being nice is satisfying but, I could not tell you how many times I would rather return the attitude. One person can only take so much. Trying to remember that everyone has bad days sometimes isn’t enough to get you through the conversation or even your shift. I’m also not even getting the worst of it; I serve ice cream! There are plenty of people that work in different customer service positions that get yelled at for simple mistakes.
This issue has gotten so out of hand that almost every establishment has a hiring sign on its door. It could be because of quarantine and people forgetting how to treat other human beings. But trust me when I say, when someone is yelling at you for whatever reason, sticking an ice cream cone in their face is a better idea than just being nice and saying, “My mistake, I’ll remake that for you.” Working in customer service has honestly built up my patience, however it makes you question if doing the job is worth your sanity. Sounds a bit dramatic I know but being nice to someone apparently costs a million dollars because many customers don’t treat workers as human beings.
I guess people forget the golden rule. . . “Treat others the way you would like to be treated.”Â