to want to be treated with respect by the public in my workplace?

[diamond457]

I've been in the job three weeks, at reception for the council.
Today a man came in with his spaniel and I said sorry we aren't aloud dogs in the building. He said oh fuck sake that's ridiculous and handed me his dogs leish and said you hold him while I go in. I said I'm sorry I'm trying to do my job I can't hold your dog. He said not your not your just sat on your arse and then told me if anything happens to his dog outside its my fault and he's coming for me. He then asked me where is the sign that says no dogs and I said its right in front of you on the window.
Last week someone complained about me. She came in and asked for something. I told her I could not do that at the desk but I can send her through to the right person. She started shouting at me and swearing, telling me to just do it. She's disabled and can't be bothered with it. I said I'm sorry but I don't have that information to hand all I can do is send you through to an advisor. After her balling at me for ten mins I said you can go through or you can go elsewhere. She phoned up about 'my attitude'.

I have lost faith in humanity and have already decided I will be looking for something else.

Op that is all very sad, but having worked in a filling station, I suspect any similar customer facing role where the general public is involved may have similar issues. I am not condoning it, but a small number of people just aren't decent folks.

That's working at the council for you. When was the last time you contacted them about something good? It's not personal - the complaint wasn't about you, it was because SHE decided you were the one that could help her and so SHE decided that you not being able to meant that you didn't want to. The dog man was just an idiot. There will be worse, there will be better, but...that's a shitty way to start off there.

YANBU but you are fighting a losing battle. I've worked in retail, catering, admin and customer care. Anything public-facing carries the risk of arseholes. Actually, it's not a risk so much as it is a certainty. They're everywhere. Your choices are to grow skin a foot thick or find a different job, unfortunately.

I am now self-employed and work from home. 99% of communication is done via email. Bliss.

BTW for sake of amusement, various stuff I got regular shit off from customers -
Price of petrol
Complaints about things we did or didn't sell
Claims the fuel pumps were cheating them
Demands in various forms for lies on receipts - as if a human right, eg cigarette purchases to be recorded as fuel, fuel cards demanding a reg number not to have the reg of the vehicle just filled recorded.

That's aside from drive-offs and people emptying their ashtrays/rubbish anywhere on the forecourt or carwash in spite of us having a million bins, people leavjng the toilets filthy, vandalising the toilets, stealing bog rolls etc

Your job is very, very difficult - lots of people will be thoroughly fed up and frustrated by the time they reach the council office; I must be honest and say that the council receptionists where I live are particularly unhelpful and 'jobsworth', quoting petty rules rather than actively seeking solutions to problems. I was once trying to liaise with a receptionist - simply asking her to issue vouchers for the local food bank when asked (there was no question of her needing to check who was 'entitled' to a voucher, records to be kept or anything like that, we are an independent Food Bank) - you would have thought I was asking her to administer a Phd doctorate. .

We were only asking the council to give out vouchers because of the introduction of universal credit and the number of people desperately short of cash to buy food. .

Getting in touch with anyone helpful in my local council, whether it's by phone or in person, is soul destroying, and if ever I have to do it I've wound myself up before I even make the phonecall or get there. It's just full of jobsworths.

However there is no excuse for swearing, shouting or being aggressive, (as much as I feel like it at the time).

The general public are awful people. You'll get the worst of it as well, no-one goes into the council offices unless they're already at the end of their tether.

agree with comments saying sadly it's just the small minority of the general public and good luck finding a job that doesn't involve them at all!

I went from working in retail, to the the council tax department chasing up non-payers (so you can imagine the sort of abuse) to finally what I thought would be a lovely, anger-free job in an academic library in a top university. In my first week I was told "to shove your fucking library up your arse!" To be fair there were significantly fewer twats in library job but there are very few jobs where you can escape them completely.

The thing that makes most of a difference is not the sector but whether or not you have a good manager who will back you up and limit the abuse you have to take, which luckily I have had in most jobs.

Worked for the council in retail and hospitality and have come to realise that the general public are dicks

YANBU but working for the council sounds like the wrong job for you if you expect to be treated with respect.

For months I tried to report a council refuse operator who had made obscene remarks to my teenage GD. Most phone call made me shake with frustration, one or two gave me false hopes of action being taken.
When I finally was taken seriously, and visited the same day by a senior official, the man was sacked. The official agreed with me about council phone people. One divulged that they were on a ticking clock and must 'keep control of the conversation'. Another accused me of using obscene language, I hadn't.
With hindsight I'd go straight to the most receptive local councillor, I live and learn!

I work in a health care role. I'm an absolute 'hate sponge' some of the time. I don't even recognise I'm being spoken to badly and it takes another member of staff to say 'are you just going to take that'? People can be so rude but I'm rubbish at retaliating so I leave it to the amazing, feisty receptionists. They're always game for a fight!

One Christmas eve I took my girls through a McDonald's drive through for lunch, the girl gave me a big smile and said Merry Christmas. I said thanks and a very merry Christmas to you too. She said I was the first person who ever said it back. Sad isn't it