why do people treat customer service workers badly?

Looking through one of the other debate topics that broached the subject of decreasing a waitresses tip based on an informal greeting, I was reminded of my run ins with people who are rude and hostile to customer service workers just because they can be.
I'm sure that if you worked at almost any job you have found that some people actually enjoy making people feel inferior and belittling them simply because they are paying for a service.
I am all for giving people a special license to be able to go out in public, and every time you act like a jerk you get a point on the license. Once you've gotten too many you are revoked until you take a class on how to treat others.

My husband works as a restaurant manager and you wouldn't believe the stories I've heard. After hearing about a ridiculous incident where someone demanded a free pass for a next visit I suggested (jokingly) that they should be forced to wear a T-shirt saying, " I am an idiot and should not be allowed out to restaurants" when they use the free pass.

Is anyone else tired of people who act like this?!

[DCJenn]

Having spent a large portion of my life in the service world, (from sales clerk to ice cream scooper to dressing room attendent) it goes both ways. I have been rudely treated by sales clerks and wait staff- and I have been rudely treated by customers.

I try not to be rude to people when they are rude to me- but it can be difficult. Since I was the one posting about the wait staff and tipping, I will let you know usually is a pretty egregious offense before I start reducing (or eliminating) tips. But- tips are supposed to be based on service- and aren't supposed to be automatic- although they pretty much are standard these days.

People can be awful though. One day when I was cleaning out dressing rooms during a major sale, no one was using one particular dressing room. I couldn't figure out why- until I went in to the dressing room and underneath a (brand new) blouse was a giant turd. Yes, someone chose to relieve themselves on the stool (which then started a whole lot of stool on stool jokes) in the dressing room. Needless to say, the stock guys we called to come get it were less than thrilled.

Jenn

Oh my gosh, Jenn....that is the grossest thing I have ever heard!!! ::

[fluffhead]

Yeah - definitely competes with the "dog eating feminine hygiene products" story.

[Meenah]

LOL, I thought I had forgotten about that one.
Luanne

Human feces, used diapers, tampons and pads, condoms...you name it, I've found it in a fitting room.

My personal favorite was the time I had to stop a couple from having sex in a fitting room.

And then there was the time a woman demanded I empty all my pockets (including my bra), and every drawer behind the counter, and count down all the registers because she KNEW she had given me a $100 instead of a $20.

[PrincessFiona]

:!

[Rapunzel]

I've been a waitress and worked at an amusement park among other jobs years ago. When my husband and I were dating and first married he was a pizza boy (I love to counter snide "So, you married a doctor," comments with, "No, I married a pizza delivery boy." ). I also come from a blue-collar family (VERY low income). So, I have to say I honestly relate to many of the service people I encounter. I have someone clean my house every other week and I have to fight asking them to sit down and have a drink or something when they come over (the company charges by the hour so it would just be me paying them to relax ). My husband's aunt is currently a housecleaner and my MIL was a janitor during my husband's teenage years.

Anyway, because of my closeness to this type of job I think I probably have less sympathy for people in the service industry who don't do their jobs well. I really think there is a serious decrease in the manners and work ethic of most service people I have encountered over the years and it honestly ticks me off because all of these bad service people make the lives of the service people who are doing a good job a living h***. So, if I encounter a person in the service industry that is rude, generally lazy, unknowledgeable, etc, I DO reduce the tip, talk to the manager, or whatever else the situation calls for.

Jennifer

I usually leave a nice tip unless the server really screwed up our order or is very unfriendly. If I eat at a place like TGI Fridays, my expectations of the servers are, well, not very high so they would have to be a major screw up in order for me to reduce the tip. If I'm at a $40 a plate restuarant, on the other hand, the service better be above par.

If I am unhappy with the service I have been provided somewhere, I just won't give that store or restaurant my business. If I have to wait in line for too long at a store, for example, I'll simply put down whatever I was about to purchase and just leave....and then I won't shop at that store again.

[smiley]

This one isn't as bad as the stool in the fitting room, but when I was working at a customer service phone line a customer decided to use the restroom while he was talking to me. To make it worse he flushed, but then didn't even wash his hands afterward. Disgusting!

I have never understood talking on the phone while going to the bathroom. There are some times you just shouldn't be multi tasking.

[houseelf]

I think the original question is a good one, but I think that it is part and parcel of a larger trend. Why are people in general more rude to each other? Hmmm...Perhaps this goes back to the question "What is the correct level of formality.

As a former bar maid, waitress, and telephone customer service representative, I can attest that I have been treated equally rudely outside of these service roles. I have dealt with some stewardesses in the last few years who have treated me, the customer, with such disdain that I have contemplated turning them in. But I digress....

Kelly

I think that we as a so