Just A Little Respect
I was troubled by how to begin this piece because it is a topic that is rarely spoken about amongst young adults, because it’s accepted. “The customer is always right.” It’s an old little saying, probably coined by rich people with polished shoes and an office up state, but those five little worlds have a very large effect on what someone deems as acceptable and what others deem as job loss. If you’re still wondering what I’m talking about, just think back to those times when you thought something rude about the 20-something year old shop assistant who accidentally pulled out the wrong shoe, or the waiter who calculated the bill wrong by four dollars.
Whilst I have personally yet to conduct research, it is common to hear about rude customers who caused a ‘scene’, shouting abuse or belittling the shop assistant. Just because a customer is possibly going to pay their wages for their services, it does not give them the right to belittle and condescend them. “I wait your tables, provide your food, make sure you are having a good night – but I am not your b****.” – Anonymous.
The world as it is today would not function without providers and ‘accepters’. They are both equal in terms of socio-economic status, but in some cases, the ‘accepter’ treats the provider as someone of lower importance than them – but why? The ‘accepter’ (the customer) who requires the service of the waiter or the shop assistant I think feels this way because they change to the provider the instant they exchange their funds for services or goods. “I am giving them money for their product, I have more rights than them.”
Essentially what I want you to take away from this piece is that we are all human. People make mistakes, stuff up orders, bring down the wrong shoe, put the mayonnaise in the wrong bag; whether they did it on purpose or not is their own moral consequence but what if it truly was a mistake? Respect is very hard to come by in society of late, whether it’s an accepted social trend or kids are being raised that way, it begs me to question what the future will look like in two generations time. No one shares with anyone, everyone is afraid of people and people want everything for nothing. Yes this is severely over generalising the entire planet – there are obviously people who do share, do smile at strangers and ask how someone’s day is, and mean it.
Respect other people, because when time comes and you’re in need of a strangers help, who will be there to help you?