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Customer support representative
If you are among the millions of courteous, hard-working Americans who toil in the economic sector called “customer service,” listen up. You are the “dogs” kicked by too many rude, overbearing clods who think anyone hired to serve them is less than human. Not that humans are morally superior to dogs, mind you, but you get the idea. The most maligned victims of America’s declining civility are not politicians (who often deserve it), people who drive the speed limit (who don’t) or even the meek and downtrodden. Rather, they are the restaurant staff, flight attendants, convenience store clerks, salespeople and other customer service reps (CSRs) required to courteously attend to the boorish curmudgeons who come their way, no matter how much emotional abuse that entails.
Granted, there are customer service workers who are also ill-mannered, and some may deserve a taste of their own medicine, but that’s another column. This one is for you CSRs who put on a happy face, say “please” and “thank you,” and sincerely strive to politely accommodate the needs of others. You deserve a break today, as the jingle goes, but chances are, you won’t get one. The psychology behind this “treat them like dirt” attitude is fairly transparent. Take a customer who is either having a bad day or who is just a miserable excuse for a person, put them in the vicinity of a respectful CSR, and you have the perfect formula for unleashing the inner bully.
Often, these mental abusers lack the gumption to victimize those who are free to fight back, like co-workers, friends or even strangers on the street. Instead, they target the institutionally restrained, like CSRs, who must tolerate this emotional violence while keeping one mental hand tied behind their backs, or else risk unemployment, or worse. One over-the-top example? There has been a dramatic increase in verbal and even physical abuse of health care workers, who are a highly professional version of CSRs. Consider a few other cases in point from my own observations:
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A woman was chatting merrily with her friend at a department store counter and then shifted to the smiling salesclerk with an abruptly cold, metallic demeanor. “Hurry it along, will you?” she snarled, and then turned to her companion and loudly carped, “They are so slow here.”
After being told his flight was delayed due to weather, a man verbally ripped the apologetic gate agent from belly button to eyeball, loudly concluding with, “This airline sucks!” Her skillful efforts to defuse his emotional hijacking proved futile, only triggering further escalation.
A guy at a fast-food restaurant was short-changed ten cents by a harried adolescent CSR in training. “You kids can’t even count,” he scowled, holding up a dime. “You owe me another one of these!” This wasn’t about the money, of course. It was about some pissed-off-at-the-world type looking for a vulnerable target for his discontent.
Remember common human decency? Well, it’s become increasingly uncommon. So, if you’re in customer service, which now dominates our economy, don’t expect much mercy from the emotional bullies out there. If you’re lucky, you work for someone who won’t tolerate mistreatment of employees by customers, no matter the cost. I’ve witnessed a few courageous managers who have stepped between one of these goons and their assailed CSR, but in our amped-up, heavily armed society, this can elicit more than harsh words.
As for the bullies, they should take to heart what Benjamin Franklin said:
“To be humble to superiors is duty, to equals courtesy, to servants, nobleness.”
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