Do I Smell an Attitude?

Before I get started, I just want to point out that I am not going to rant and rave about respect like an overly hormonal teenager who feels as if the world doesn’t understand him; simply I want to turn the focus on interacting jobs.  I am sure that everyone has worked in a customer service job, and if by the slight chance one of you readers have not then I’m 99 percent sure you know someone that did or still does.

As I mentioned in the opening post, I work in a pizzeria as counter help, or in layman's terms a “phone person.”  I work thirty hours a week, and what do you know? I’m answering phones almost the entire length of that time.  To be absolutely honest, towards the end of nine hour shift, I’m worn out and do not wish to speak with any of the customers.  Considering that I am getting paid to do that very thing, I must put aside my needs to focus on assuring “good customer service.”

With that said, would any rational person think that I would take being yelled at or berated kindly?  Well the answer is NO.  However because the “customer is always right” I either have to take it or in the rare circumstance that the customer is too difficult to handle then I hand them over to one of my managers. 

To give you a better visual of what I must deal with on occasion, let me tell you a story.  First we will change the names of those involved for personal assurance.  The customer’s name is Beth, and my manager will be Strange.

It was a Wednesday night, and business on week nights is good but not busy.  I’m going to step back.  To assure that everything is right I always repeat back every bit of information, and especially since the night wasn’t too busy I had time to spend on this customer in particular.  Anyways, the customer calls and I answer the phone as I always do “Thank you for calling…This is…How may I help you?”  Instantly the customer caught an attitude with me, for reasons nobody knows.  “Hi.  My name is Beth.”  Trying to be the best at my job, I ignored the moody tone of voice.  “Hi! Can I have your address please ma’am?”  You would have thought I asked her for a favor, with the tone she replied back with.  Normally I can easily ignore it, however because the street name was unfamiliar and the tone she had adopted was causing feedback into the receiver it was hard to understand her.  After repeating the address and order several times to make sure everything was 100 percent correct, I was released of my bondage to this unmannerly woman.

My shackles were quickly chained around my ankle once again, by another phone call from Beth.  Instantly, she began to scold me.  Apparently the driver had gotten lost, and called Beth; when in actuality the address was wrong.  Beth began using very derisive language with me.  Amongst the berating, she had informed me that the food arrived on time and was just fine, but the problem is that I am “incompetent” and the driver showed up soaking wet.  I thought to myself, as she was going on about my inadequateness, the reason the driver was wet was because it is pouring down rain.  At the moment that I realized she was not going to stop, I simply asked her “well what do you want me to do, would you like to speak to my manager?”  “Please,” she said in the snarkiest way.  Of course, my manager Strange would take her side and let her know that he was on her side.  She was given a ten dollar credit and I was reprimanded.  In essence, Beth was rewarded for her ability to whine.  Later, I was informed by the driver that she gave him the same [wrong] address she had given me.

The point of that story was to prove my point, that had I at least sounded older rather than younger than I really am, I probably would not have had any problems out of Beth.  I sometimes feel that because of my youthful appearance, and possibly my actual age, I do not receive the respect that I must give others.  But maybe that is my answer.  Because I MUST give the customers respect, some of them feel that they do not have to return the gesture in any shape or form.  How could they give me respect?  On what level do I deserve?  I’m not an adult, but I am not a child either.  Although, I can truthfully say that I have a newfound respect for waiters and waitresses; because of my personal experience with customers in the restaurant business.  The respect level is not there, and sometimes it seems to be enough to push me to quit.  Why are so many people rude, or feel as if they are entitled?  I am technically an adult too, and a very respectable one at that.  With the amount of young adults in the customer service industry, especially the restaurant business, I would think respect would just be present.  Maybe it isn’t an age thing in whole, but it definitely has a major influence.