If I ruled the world, customer service would have a whole different meaning. In my world, the customers would serve the workers. Now, I am not meaning customers would serve the chef’s dinner at a restaurant or fix a mechanic’s car or call the telemarketer at 11 p.m. What I am saying is that customers need to have a more servant-minded attitude when dealing with workers, wherever they happen to be. There are those workers who truly do a bad job at what they do and will be good-day killers. But even then, we’ve got to stay servant-minded.
I worked for nearly four years at a movie theater, and for those four years, I saw just about every type of customer. Among the many types, the most noticeable were the popcorn gluttons, the ladies-night-out 40-somethings, the frat boys, the nervous first daters, the date night pros, the underage R-rated stowaways, the artsy-fartsy film critic wannabes, the irresponsible parents who take their 4-year-olds to “300” and the first-time families who never fail to gawk at movie prices. Naturally there were normal, average people mixed in, but they don’t make as much of an impact. And mixed into all of those types were the snobby customers who griped about food prices, butter consistency and limited candy selection. If there is one thing customers know how to do, it is gripe about the small stuff.
I’m a customer too, and as a customer, I’ve griped as well. But I truly try to watch myself. The fact that someone is wearing a neon-colored uniform with a tacky hat and smells like a deep fryer does not mean he or she is any less of a human being. If anything, that person should be commended for his or her dedication. Some jobs are simply more glamorous than others, and sometimes those working the double shift at a diner work just as hard as the high-paid CEO in the top-level office suite. So let’s show them some respect.
Christians can be just as bad of customers as anyone else (and even worse tippers), but I have a feeling that getting frustrated with the waitress just because she brought out chicken instead of beef is not exactly a W.W.J.D. moment. Here is a suggestion for when you next order that ultra-complicated meal: Make sure to ask for a side of fruit. We could all use a side plate of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control when things don’t go just our way.
Instead of expecting to be served, why don’t we try to serve? Life would be better for everyone if we could be more patient, kinder and gentler, and if we showed even an ounce of self-control. Going on a tirade about how much movies cost today to the box office worker is not going to bring down the ticket price. Getting mad at the telephone operator because she has a strong accent is not going to make you understand her any better and constantly sending your soup back to the kitchen because it’s not the right temperature will probably just get it sneezed on, nuked in the microwave and sent back with a friendlier smile.
How about we swallow the frustration with the soup and use kind words, loosen our grip on the tips and develop some good R-E-S-P-E-C-T for those working for minimum wage? A day’s bad enough when you have to handle a nine-hour shift in a dorky uniform, so how about we change our focus from getting served to making someone’s day better?
This way, we would go from expecting great customer service to providing service as a customer.
