The poor treatment of customer service workers has to stop. I’ve been working in customer service for the last few months, and I was lucky enough to start during the holiday season (catch the sarcasm). That’s when I was finally hit with the realization that a lot of average people treat customer service workers like we’re not even human. 

I’ve been shown poor treatment by all ages, and it gets tiring and draining after a while. I’m working just like everybody else, to make money, pay bills and save up, but it seems as though a lot of people don’t see that and don’t respect it. I had an experience during the holidays where a man cut the line, and I didn’t notice, so I checked him out. I was then met with aggression and rudeness from another customer. She approached me, yelled at me and told me I didn’t know how to do my job. I’ve also had experiences of being harassed by male customers, pressuring me to give them my number and getting upset when I say no. Moments like these put me in a very weird spot. It was during those times that I started wondering why I was even there. Why am I getting paid $16.50 an hour to be treated like this?

Then I have to remind myself. I love my co-workers. I love my manager. I love my supervisors. My work environment itself is great. The only downside is the treatment by customers. 

It just seems as though a lot of these customers have a sense of entitlement, thinking that because we are working this job, we are also working for them, and that mindset needs to stop. I’ve been working my job for about five months now, and I feel like I’ve been working there for years. These jobs look easy on the surface, but once you’re actually there, dealing with a line full of upset, angry and annoyed customers on the night of Christmas Eve, you’ll see just how bad the job can get.

Of course, not every customer is bad or rude. I’ve met plenty of people who are very nice and understanding, but as a college student working her first job, this has not been a great first experience. I think every person should work at least one customer service job in their life so they can see just how draining it is and understand that these kinds of jobs are not for the weak hearted. 

It’s easy to treat people with kindness and respect. Just remember that these workers are here to make money for themselves or their families. If people continue to treat workers poorly, eventually you will see them snap. It doesn’t take much to be respectful, so stop treating customer service workers like garbage.