Give Hugs, Not Judgement

Customer service is dead. Everyone is slowly becoming Dante and Randal from Clerks. I thought that if you work in the service industry, that it was mandatory to counter attack a rude customer with a smile and attempt to fix the problem, not exassberate it.

So this afternoon I was headed out to Old Navy to find a couple things appropriate for work, I get in the car and see the gas gauge is low. Ok no problem I will get gas first. I fill the tank, go inside and hand the scrawny baby faced kid behind the counter my debit card.  Declined. Uh what? I try it another 5 times and this poor kid is trying to help and get a solution to this problem. I'm about to call the bank and get answers when the girl that was ringing up someone else, stepped in and said "if it's declined then it's declined, maybe you should make sure you have money before you pump gas". This infuriorated me and I started yelling at her. The guy who she had finished ringing up was standing there watching and pipes in "it's not their fault why don't you call the bank?" I snapped my head over to him and said "I know it's not their fault but what is their fault is that they have a rude little bitch working who can't mind her own business" he got quiet and seemed to be fighting back a smile. Turns out that it worked fine in the ATM so I slammed the cash down and said "here's the money I don't have"

Turns out my bank decided that my debit card was stolen and froze my card, I still haven't found the reason why yet. I also plan to go back to this gas station and complain to a manager about the rude cashier in the morning.

Now I refuse to work in the service industry but I get it, you take what you can get to get by. I'm reasonably certain that being extra nice to rude customers would crush my soul and I'm better equipped to de escalate mentally and emotionally unstable recovering drug addicts, plus I find it much easier.

Why is it easier?  I don't work at Hazelton or Addiction Centers of America, you know the ones that have commercials showing the resort or "treatment center" where you can just check in and treat it as a vacation. Oh no, my patients aren't rich and snooty, they are the middle and lower class people that quickly getting scooped out of the gutter and sent to a 30-90 day program as a probation agreement. Well that's not fair, not ALL of them fall into that category some are ready to pick up the pieces and glue their life back together so they show up when there is a bed. My point is, they get swept off the street and hidden so politicians can say "what heroin problem?" And convince the public there is no problem and Heroin is slowing getting cleaned up.

This is a lie, and I got off track again. Every single one of those men know what it's like to lose everything that had worked for and some will never see their children again but they try so hard to prove they've changed but the system is broken and so are they. They need to let it out they need someone to care and that's where the nursing department steps in. I don't judge them, when there is a problem I ask what solution would be the best for you. They need someone to care if they succeed or fail they don't need a judge or someone to spit in their face.

So I ask why?  There is no acceptable reason that the broken and unstable people are easier to de escalate and come to a solution than the girl behind the counter at a gas station judging me.

I think at this point she should probably re evaluate her life, clearly she is insecure and unhappy with her life.

Rude is unacceptable and really just low class.

Stay classy my friends 😀