Thanking Those in the Service Industry

Through both working in the service industry, reading accounts of those who work or have worked in the service industry, and observing general treatment of those in the service industry, I have come to the conclusion that we do not treat these workers very well. By service industry, I mean customer-serving jobs that generally don't require a college or technical degree, including (but not limited to) waiters and waitresses, retail/customer service associates (this includes clothing stores, grocery stores, gas stations, and any other business where items are sold), front desk operators at businesses such as hotels, janitors, maids and housecleaners. While I am not making a blanket statement, as I have seen many people be kind and friendly to those who are serving them, I will say that too many people seem to be forgetting that these workers are people and are treating them as though they are machines or something less than human whose sole purpose in life is to serve.

In part one of this series, I am going to focus on retail/customer service associates( including cashiers, front desk operators, etc). It can be easy to forget that we're dealing with people as many of the exchanges in this industy have become robotic due to company policy. Many retail associates and other customer service employees have a script that they must follow, in terms of how they greet a customer, what questions they are supposed to ask, and what they must say at the end of the transaction (for example: "Thank you for shopping with us, have a nice day!"). I partially blame these scripts, as I think they are helping to create an increasingly impersonal society. Also, they stifle the spirit of the employees who must repeat them again and again, to customer after customer, and eventually can lead the employees themselves to feel as though they are machines as they slip into the tedious routine of repetition. Employees in such jobs often have very little say, power, or choices, so controlling their speech is the ultimate way of taking away any freedom and creativity they may be able to bring to their job. I have also noticed that employees that work in small, non-corporate businesses who do not have a script they must stick to often talk freely and happily to customers and seem to be treated better overall.

While these scripts might make such employees seem more machinal, that is no excuse for poor treatment. People are often cold and apathetic toward such employees, or worse, demanding and angry, and the employees are often blamed for things they have no control over. (In an old job I had at a used clothing store, I used to want to yell at disgruntled customers, "Don't blame me! Do I look like I have any control over the prices? I get paid $6.50 an hour!") Other customers treat the employees as though their sole mission in life is to serve the customers. Such customers often forgo societal politeness and niceties, such as please and thank you, fail to make eye contact, and never smile. These customers often treat the employees as though they are below them, as though they are less human because of their position. (Of course, there is a difference between harried or otherwise upset customers who simply do not have the wherewithal to interact cheerfully and those who simply do not care about the person who is helping them. I think that the employees can tell the difference.)

One of the rudest things I have ever witnessed in such a situation (and I have witnessed it multiple times) is customers talking on their cell phones while they are at a cash register, being rung up by the cashier. Often, they do not even talk to the cashier once throughout the transaction. This is incredibly dehumanizing, and the people who do this kind of thing would never talk on their cell phone while visiting their doctor, lawyer, or massage therapist. They would never do it to their son or daughter's teacher or to a neighbor. Why would they do it to to the person ringing them up? Despite their lack of words, this action talks for itself, and says some very rude things to the cashier: 1) My time is more important than yours, and I am more important than you. 2) I don't need to acknowledge you as human.

This kind of treatment represents a lack of understanding and empathy at best and a kind of classism and discrimination at worst. Customers need to be aware that the people helping them and waiting on them are people, as real as they are, with lives and families and talents and interesting ideas. People in these types of jobs are just as intelligent and capable as those in more appreciated or respected jobs. Some work in the service industry because they enjoy it, some work in the service industry while they are trying to figure out what they really want to do or while they are in school, and some that work in the service industry simply have not had the same privileges as those in more respected positions. Whatever their reason is, their choice and their position should be respected, as should they.

Many who work in the service industry are routinely treated as though they are insignificant. This should not happen. People being treated as though they are insignificant in any situation or context is unacceptable, and should never happen. When people are consistently treated as though they are insignificant, it can wear on them, impermeate them, and eventually cause them to believe they are insignificant, and that they have nothing to offer the world. Something as simple as a smile and a sincere thank you can remedy this, or a short conversation. At the very least, everyone should make eye contact with those who help them and acknowledge their humanity, treating them as one would treat a neighbor or a kind stranger.

So let's appreciate those who help us in stores, at gas stations, when we buy groceries or check into a hotel. After all, what would we do without them? Today, thank someone who works a usually thankless job.