So, I am at work and this delightful woman came up to the desk and I greeted her, asked her how I could help her, smiled to be friendly, etc. She is apparently parked illegally because there is “nowhere else to park” and she really needs to use the restroom. So, I figure that she is in a cranky mood because she needs to pee and everything is horrible when one’s bladder is screaming and throwing a tantrum. Also, today there is election judge training, so there really might be no where to park.
I tell her to go to the bathroom while I fill out as much of the paperwork as I can. She comes back out and…she’s still cranky. I am now registering her for an event and my phone’s alarm goes off. On slow days like today, I set an alarm on my phone for every 10 to 30 minutes because sitting in the same place for hours at a time can throw off a person’s inner clock. I go to turn off my phone alarm (it is super loud and annoying) and she darkly mutters “If I get a ticket for parking illegally…”
Now in reality, I apologize for the very short delay, process her transaction, and she snaps how she doesn’t care when I ask if she would like a paper clip for her tickets.
However, in my mind I have peered down my nose at her and pointedly said, “If you get a ticket for parking illegally, that will be your fault. Not mine. You are responsible for your decisions and that includes poor parking decisions. If you really couldn’t find anywhere to park than maybe you should have tried to do this at a later time.”
I don’t say that, not only because I want to keep my job, but also because she’s just some old lady whose worried about getting a ticket and really isn’t worth my time. Yet, I have worked in many different locations/professions and there seems to be an ongoing theme.
- The customer is always right (even when they are NOT)
- I and my fellow workers are of lesser value, because I need a “real” job and should have gone to college.
What is with our society and deciding that people are only worth their level of education or the amount of money they make? I know highly talented and exceptionally hardworking people who do not have a Bachelor’s Degree. I know similarly awesome people who have Bachelor’s Degree and they’re still working the job they’ve had since high school, because job hunting is hard.
Why can’t people just be nice to each other and not act like elitist jerks?
I had a similar situation at work recently, relating back to the “customer is always right” mentality. At my work, I have to provide customer service in an extremely fast-paced retail environment. Recently, I was working on a Saturday and the store was PACKED. Because of this, I tried, but was definitely not able to provide every customer with the best service possible while still doing my job. At the end of my shift, I was delighted to learn that some customers were not pleased with the service they had in the store that day. Overall, I kept it professional, but it is frustrating because everyone is just trying to do their best at work. Also, I can relate to the “lesser value” thing, as I see a constant pattern of those obtaining degrees looking down upon those who chose a different path, whether that be a career, trade school, army, etc. Overall, I think that if someone is truly happy with the life they are living and following their dreams, they should do whatever works for them. College certainly isn’t for everyone, and that’s totally okay.