Ever have to make a great effort to understand why someone in customer service would be rude? Like, when you are faced with someone who expects you to give them a bit of cash for something, and they come across as being inconvenienced by your need to purchase the product they're selling?
It has happened to me, and every time is has, I have tried to understand just what the motivation is behind the attitude. Is it to lend an air of exclusivity to the product? I could see that if the purchase was something hoity-toity, something rare or difficult to obtain - maybe some snobbery is called for, you know, to make it feel like a...snobbish purchase.
But when it's just an ordinary, run-of-the-mill item (which is pretty much all I ever buy), it's hard to reconcile the "You are so fortunate to be able to make this purchase" attitude with the purchase.
Now, I will confess there have been a few occasions in which I have probably, while working in a customer service capacity, been less than customer service oriented (Okay, okay, that should read: definitely have). However, that has always been a reaction to a customer being rude first, or if I've been dealing with a credit card company.
Credit card companies are the devil, and it is perfectly acceptable to be rude to the devil.
In my book, the customer may not always be right, but the customer should always be respected (I'm not claiming to live up to that ideal, I'm just saying that it's in my book).
Which means, if you cannot come across with at least a modicum of cheerfulness in how you perform your job, then maybe it's time for you to reassess your career aspirations and find some other way to make a living.
Because, Mr. "I'm too hip to be bothered with this old dudes preferences", some day you will be on the other side of the counter, and you will see, you will see.
I did, today.
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