Customer Service - it's not the complaint department

You know, over the past few years I've noticed that people, on the whole, have become blatantly self-centered and oblivious of anyone else's feelings. This is especially true when observing how people inter-act with those who are in a customer service type profession. I mean, have you ever SEEN the way some people act towards the unfortunate souls who work the cash registers at a JC Penny on a sale day? How about the people that work the returns counter at a Wal-Mart? Oh, and let's not forget the thankless job of being a gate agent at the airport. You would think that the way passengers yell, berate, belittle and basically degrade the airline employees, that these reps have control over every airline, in every airport around the world. No matter how courteous the person behind the counter is, they receive the brunt of someone's anger whenever a flight is delayed or canceled, there is a gate change, a change in aircraft, whatever. The debate has been going on for a while now about allowing pilots to be armed in the cockpit in an effort to reduce the possibility of hijackings and terrorist actions. All I can say is that if it were allowed for gate agents to be armed, I think we'd have a sudden rash of passenger shootings the likes of which would make the Waco, Texas massacre pale in comparison.

Is it really so hard for people to take a moment to realize that they aren't being singled out and that it is NOT the fault of the person behind the counter (whether at the airport or the department store) for whatever the problem is? Even if it IS due to human error in some fashion, they are much more likely to help if they aren't being chastised. Especially if the person doing the chastising is spewing like a sailor.

It would also do folks well to remember they aren't alone in most of these situations and that there are often times "younger ears" in the vicinity that shouldn't be hearing the tirade. Would it hurt everyone to learn a little tolerance and patience?

~~Justacoasterfan~~