Yahoo Answers Question that illustrates a pet peeve of mine.

[Rageaholic]

One of my random google searches brought me to a yahoo answers question where a retail worker asked why customers are so rude. They even said they're grateful for the good customers.

The top answer said they hope they're not rude to sales people, but that doesn't mean they should accept their rudeness. Unnecessary comment, but fair enough, no one should have to accept rudeness. But then they go on to say that the asker should examine their own behavior because it's possible that something they are doing is bringing out the worst in their customers. They then close with this.

Your attitude should be "I desire to do all I can for the customer no matter how unpleasant or unreasonable that customer may be" and not "I believe in doing a good job but I'm not going to kiss your butt."

First of all, I hate hate hate when people assume that if someone is being treated badly, that they might be to blame. It's a classic case of the Just World Hypothesis or Fundamental Attribution Error (take your pick). It encourages that blame the victim mentality we so often see. (Yes, I'm aware that there are some people who see themselves as the victim when it is their obnoxious personality that causes friction, but nothing in the YA question suggested such a thing.)

And for that final quote, uh, strawman might have a point. There's only so much abuse a person can take from a customer (or from anyone) before they just don't care any more. And even if you can argue that a person took the job to put up with customers, that's probably the last thing they want to hear right now.

I shouldn't get so worked up over something as stupid as Yahoo Answers, but it really illustrated this mentality I hate.

[bex1218]

"I desire to do all I can for the customer no matter how unpleasant or unreasonable that customer may be"

Sounds like something the company I work for would say. Luckily, not my managers. I am not an ass kisser but I am also not an abuse taker. I have been bullied enough in middle school and partially high school. Screw that.

[s_stabeler]

to be fair, that can be interpreted two ways- one is to kiss the customers ass, one is that you don't reduce service because a customer is an asshole, while sticking to policy. it's still not quite fair on the staff ( if someone is being an asshole, then you should be able to tell them to clear off) but isn't quite as bad.

[Lace Neil Singer]

That person deserves to lose their cushy job and be forced to get a job in retail so that they can fully understand what it's like from the other side.

I'm sorry, but no-one, from the boss at the top to the McDonalds worker at the bottom, deserves abuse and should not be forced to accept bullying as part of their job. Customers have a job too, to be civil and behave like grown ups. True, there are rude service workers, but even if you do encounter one, you don't have to be rude back like a little child.

[Hyena Dandy]

When I did have a retail job, I certainly desired to do all that I could for a customer, regardless of that customer's unpleasantness. There was, however, a point where that desire was overwhelmed by the incredible force of "Notgiveafuckedness"

[Peppergirl]

Not only are people like this jerks, but they're stupid.

Most customer service workers have their little ways of getting back at the rude customer. Not talking about violence or tampering or anything like that, but if someone is giving me a super hard time, I'll find small ways to simply do the bare minimum task required to keep me out of trouble with my bosses.

People who treat me with basic respect and courtesy get the very best service I can provide.

I'd be willing to wager that many workers have the tools to do this too.

[Lace Neil Singer]

Two words; minimum topping. That is how rude and unpleasant customers were punished back in the days where I worked at the pizza place. Exceptionally nice people would get extra cheese or meat or sauce on their pizzas; most people would just get the unmeasured handful or ladleful of topping. Minimum topping, however, was the exact measurement which we were supposed to go by, but didn't in most cases due to the fact that it would take ages to measure toppings out for every customer. But we didn't mind going the extra yard for the SC...

[Amanita]

I've been on several trips, and done pretty well in terms of hotel rooms with the views I wanted, window seats, and such. How did I do it? Throw a fit? Nope!
I was nice. I told the gentleman at the hotel that I really wanted that city view, and I would be willing to wait a little longer to check in, if housekeeping still had any that hadn't been turned over yet.
I got that view room, along with a voucher for breakfast the next morning, for being patient and waiting.

At the airport, my first flight home got cancelled, so I came back to the airport the next day. They didn't give me a seat assignment at check-in, they said it would be taken care of at the gate. Well, we ended up having some flight delays, and while I was at the counter, another woman stormed up, demanding "Is this flight going or isn't it!?" The gate attendant snapped back "Well, it isn't cancelled, is it?" Meanwhile, that gate attendant was nice as pie to me. I asked if there was any chance I could get a window seat, saying that I just wanted to get my seat assignment straightened away so it was one less thing for me to worry about.
I got my window seat.

On my first NYC trip, I got an amazing room at another hotel, and I think being nice helped here too. They were busy as heck, so check in ended up being delayed by about an hour. I didn't get mad- I knew how busy they were, I could hear them on the phone turning away people who wanted rooms for that night. It didn't matter, I just rested my feet in the lobby, glad to finally be in NYC for the first time, something I had wanted to do ever since I was a kid. A couple of times I asked how things were going, but was always polite about it.
I ended up with a fantastic room, one that people apparently fight over!

I don't think I would have gotten any of these things had I acted like a bag of dicks.