FW - I say Amen and well put. The saying 'the customer is always right' is from another era. I learned that mantra as well from parents that were both in the service industry. People have changed and they are not always right,,,, sometimes they are spoiled, insolent brats.

I work in a service industry and I love my job except for a few misguided, self-indulgent few. I love that you get a rush from making someone's day, I do too.

Great post!

Can I just say "Woot!" to that?

Here Here and Amen sister! Yuppies and their entitlement issues have made polite words a rarity and vicoden a necessity.

I have a small food to go shop and I had a crazy in last night. We have a special each night and some family meals for $20. She wanted to know why she couldn't get our special (grouper) for 4 for $20. I said at $14 a person it is very hard to do grouper but the portions are decent and perhaps she could get 2 and split them. She then stood there (telling me other things I SHOULD do) and waited for another customers' order to be ready so she could see the portions.
"Please, 2 of those will not serve my family of 4" and left.
She did say please I guess

Again - AMEN! "The customer is always right" pertained to the era when the customer was polite and had some semblance of intelligence. These two traits are in very short supply now. If I were Queen of the World, good manners and passing an exam testing for common sense would be legal requirements (failing the exam would eventually result in "cleaning-up of the gene pool").

Lets raise a glass (or two) of lemon drops to The Crazy Fools Club - thank you for all you do!

I spent years in retail and modified the phrase to, "The customer may not always be right, but whenever possible they should be allowed to think so."

I still maintain that it should be mandatory that everyone work at least 2 years in a restaurant. The abusive, self-indulgence would plummet dramatically.

But, but, "The Customer is always right" was never even meant for customer service! It was originally stated by an economist to describe the basic premise of supply and demand. I.E., if your business fails because customers patronize another business instead, then you did something wrong and must adjust.

It was never supposed to mean that one gives the customer everything they ask for, or that the customer is entitled to anything beyond what they've ordered. It's an economic principle that some idiot decided to misinterpret horribly.

As we say in the coffee shop, the customer is not alway right, but they're always the customer. But you're right, the rudeness has reach new levels. Yesterday a customer tried to tell me she wanted a small, decaf, non-fat, mocha, no whip all the while carrying on a conversation on her cybog-blue-tooth-ear-phone. Then got pissy when it wasn't iced...which she perhaps told the person on the phone, but never told us.

*sigh*

Yep, politeness and kindness go a long way. Tell that to my *customers*...parolees.

I would like to point to this over at waiterrant.com, were there was an unbelievable (really, I'm still shaking my head) set of commnets about closing times. Which degenerated into, "I'm your boss" etc.

Let me know:

John

I agree with the above, but would expand it to the person BEHIND the counter as well. I'm certain, food whore, that your service is exceptional - and I am a very polite shopper, I'm the one who asks, "you aren't closing soon, are you? I wouldn't want to keep you"

However, I have been in coffee shops, K-Marts, Fred Meyers, Costco, Jewelry shops, and others recently - where the 20-somethings behind the counter are on personal calls, so can't be bothered to look up and help you, or chatting with friends "really? Well she should just kick him out, the ass!" WHILE they are 'helping' you, who just point in a random direction when you ask where something is instead of showing you, who check items at the same impossibly slow rate regardless of how many people are standing in line, who speak barely recognizable English (these are American kids we're talking about!) and one guy, who, I kid you not, while waiting for my credit card to be approved, reached up and SCRATCHED HIS NOSE with my card. I'm just saying, it goes both ways.

after working in retail i have learned to despise that phrase. more often than not the (rude, yuppie, self centered - pick one) customer is WRONG. sometimes you can let them think they're still right, but often you just have to (as nicely as possible, naturally) inform them they are misguided. then deal with them thinking/telling you that you are a moron.

Oh it goes both ways. I've been witness to many moments where customer service was a dirty word.

Last week I walked in to pay for my gas (didn't pay at the pump - needed a bottle of water) and the person behind the counter was on their cel phone. And they held up their finger at me so I could wait until they were done sharing about "last night's rager..."

We have a very strict policy - turn them on vibrate and put them in the back with the rest of your personal belongings. If someone you love has an emergency - they can call The Restaurant directly. Cell phones, while wonderful in an emergency and often times crucial for business, are the downfall of today's society.

But I tend to think any kind of progress brings about doom and gloom. :o)

Most of those who mistreat servers probably never worked in the service industry themselves. Too many people consider their own selfish needs, rather than trying to see things from the perspective of others. Visualizing these clods wearing diapers helps me to get over their abuse.

Well blogged. They need to change the phrase to, "Usually the customer is just trying to get something for free, or being an ass because they think they have the right as a customer". I'm in customer service, and so are my husband. He's in the kind where people just want something for free, I'm in the kind where clients usually are trying to divert attention to the fact that they can't pay their own bills. Either way, it's funny how many people think that being rude will actually get them anywhere.

Thank you so much for posting this! This is EXACTLY how I've been feeling at work lately. I work at a small business cafe type place, most of the same folks in everyday, and compared to the last place I was at , these folks never stop complaining! So thinking about printing this out and sharing it with my co-workers.

Cheers to you!

Oh, yessssssssss! As a public school teacher, that kind of behavior translates into"Not MY child!" or "But my little Petunia has ALWAYS gotten A's" to "No, Bobby didn't do his homework, I had a party to give so don't mark his work late" and my personal favorite: "I pay your salary." I once got gutsy enough to reply that they owned me a raise!

love it!! I work in marin county, (ca) the center of the self-entitlement world. (catering) so I totally agree with you! time for a couple of lemon drops now, made w/ my homemade limoncello!!