who has experienced rudeness from a service personnel?

My husband and I were remodeling our kitchen about five years ago and we decided one day to just go to Sears and buy all new appliances. It was a Saturday so we were in our "comfy clothes" and I wasn't wearing any make-up and had my hair in a pony tail. I was looking about 12 years old and my husband about the same. So we walked in there and found this older sales woman and were asking her some questions about the dishwashers. She was very short with us and acted like she didn't have the time of day. Then an older couple came into the area and were looking at refridgerators and she just walked away from us in made a b-line over to this older couple. It was very obvious that she thought she had a better chance of getting a sale from this other couple. Well, some guy about our age came over and started helping us. He was great! We bought a dishwasher, a stove and a refrigerator from him and the older lady never did get a sale off of that older couple. She kept glaring over in our direction while we were paying for everything. I am just hoping she learned a valuable lesson that even people with money to spend like to wear sweats every now and then!

Oh yeah..... I'm sure it has been more than once but the most recent one made me stop wanting to go to that place ever again. It was a fancy restaurant in Paris, where I ALWAYS go when I travel there. It used to be a highlight of my trips. But then I went there like 2 months ago and the hostess was really slow and not paying much attention to us who were walking in through the door. There even was an elder couple who just waited for her 2 mins. and walked out. I thought they were being too picky, but afterwards I wished I had done the same. After a while she found me a table (in the farthest corner of the restaurant, but it was crowded so not her fault) and this courteous waiter came and started waiting on me. I knew the place was crowded, but the time they made me wait between 1 course and the other was simply ridiculous. I would wave at them and they wouldn't pay attention. There was this female aide who was helping my waiter with his tables, and at first she didn't seem rude, but when I asked for my dessert after having waited for it for 20 (!!) mins and seeing that my waiter wasn't paying any attention to me, she turned to me and very rudely said: "it will come some time, don't get impatient"...... when I told her that I thought 20 mins were enough of my patience she said "well, the place is crowded, can't you see????"..... I was REALLY pissed. She still took hours to bring the darned dessert, but when I asked for the check they couldn't have brought it faster.... I complained to the waiter about her behavior, and he excused her by saying that she was upset because the customers of another table had left without paying.... Well, I told him that wasn't my fault..... but he didn't seem to feel sorry for the way I had been treated. Maybe this all was because in France you don't use to tip (already included in the check), so maybe they didn't care about the quality of the service cuz they won't get anything extra anyway... but it's an expensive place and I don't understand why everyone would be so rude... and people will still attend the restaurant! I was so dissapointed I don't think I'd go back on my next trip.

I think everyone has.

Mostly because I think the days of "the customer is always right" are over. I think we should follow the rule of "do unto others as you'd have them do unto you".

I've worked in the customer service industry. I know how they feel, and I don't blame them at all for having bad days. They put up with a LOT of sh*t from people. Rudeness, customers who have this almighty complex that they think they are the be all end all of people and that you, as the customer service person should bow down to their every need. Children who make messes all over a restaurant, scream, run around the place, spill stuff, ect..and then the waitress doesn't even get a tip. A hairdresser who cuts your hair over and over and makes sure every little strand is just the way you want it, and he/she doesn't even get a tip or a thank you.

The telemarketer who is simply doing their job by calling you and instead of you just hanging up, you have to go out of your way to be especially rude and ugly and call the person names and curse at them. I'm sure you wouldn't appreciate it if they came to YOUR job and treated YOU that way.

The gas station attendant or convenience store clerk who has to smile and politely take your 10.00 worth of gas in ALL CHANGE.

I think a lot of customer service people have EVERY right to be rude and have bad attitudes most days. Maybe they wouldn't be that way if people treated them with a little respect.

I just want to make a quick point. There are going to be those of the sympathetic sect who say "Try putting yourself in their shoes." Well that works to a point.

There are two main types of rudeness. One is inadvertent and more tolerable; that is when a person is feeling overwhelmed, stressing and gets snippy with the next person making the request, when they don't mean to be short with customers.

The other is the cocky, brash, 'you can't tell me anything' person who is 100% attitude and doesn't believe they have to EVER make an effort to be polite to anyone.

Those types are uncalled for and intolerable.

I think everyone probably has.

Sometimes being the cheerful helpful clerk is a tough job, especially when you have customers who treat you badly. I'm sure it just carries over to the next customer without them ever realizing it though.

But my worst pet peeve in the service industry is when the transaction is over and the person giving me my receipt does not say thank you. It bugs me when they don't say hello, but it irks me to no end to not get a thank you. I have called store management to complain about it before. The Walmart in my area seems to be particularly bad about it.

to get good customer service you have to first be a good customer. too many bad customers want exceptional customer service. they want you to totally disregard company policy because they for some reason dont feel that it applies to them. or they come in with a bad attitude when all you're trying to do is help. they expect you to know every single detail about every single thing in the store. i am more than happy to help a customer, believe me all us service people want is happy customers. we want to get you in, have no major meltdowns and get you out. also please dont expect people to shop for you, unless you are at nordstroms and i am a personal shopper. its not my job to decide what you want.

i have but then they get no tip so they suffer in the end. i had this woman try to scam me for 100 bucks so i told her if she didnt give me back my money i would wait outside with my friend and kick her butt she coughed up my refund really quickly after that.

Everyone has.

Its not always fun, but i find it helps putting myself in their shoes....its hard to have that plastic smile on every day....

who hasn't