To dislike the general public

[Munchickle38]

Customers - be that in a supermarket, in a restaurant, purchasers of goods/holidays/services are so rude these days. It's moved beyond acceptable behavior. Expectations are too high, everyone wants everything yesterday and service staff are subject to nothing short of abuse from some individuals who don't care a jot how they treat others.

An example; My local Sainsbury's staff have to wear little cameras now, as there have been so many assaults upon them by the general public (verbal abuse and physical abuse) that for their own wellbeing and in order to bring these individuals to book evidence is required. It's shameful, it really is. Have people lost the ability to behave decently or do they simply not care at all? It makes me angry and sad in equal measure I'm afraid to say.

I have a friend who has worked all his life in the hospitality industry. His father built up the restaurant business that he had hoped to pass over to his son (my friend.) But my friend has purposefully taken a step back from the family business, partly because he worked such long hours but also partly because he had enough of dealing with customers and their rude, entitled attitudes. He had customers swear at him, racially abuse him if orders were wrong or something went amiss, and the pressure of working under such heavy criticism and high expectation nearly drove him to have a nervous breakdown.

What is the matter with the general public nowadays? Manners cost you nothing. By all means complain if something is at fault but the way things are now it more often falls into the category of open abuse. And it's not ok to hide behind a diagnosis of anxiety. We're all anxious, each one of us in our own ways. I'm anxious - but I don't go to my local food-store and hit a member of staff with a walking cane or racially abuse someone who's trying their best to help me.

Every time I experience this behavior from people who quite frankly, should know better, I call it out and involve the police. They can then be convicted for their offences. There are repercussions for members of the general public treating staff like a piece of sh*t on the bottom of their shoe and quite rightly.

So to anyone reading this - if you're a considerate member of the general public good on you. Keep it up. If, on the other hand, you fancy abusing someone else because you're anxious/entitled/bored/selfish/impatient or just a complete cunt, know that you will be held to account.

There. All done.

I bet there have been similar complaints throughout recorded time, just like there are about 'the youth of today'.

Odd post though - as if the OP considers themselves not part of, and distinctly above being 'a member of the public'.

There was a really cool quote in The Times, early Sept I think it was, saying that there are way more nice people in the world. But their nature of keeping themselves to themselves and not being a bother means you don’t notice them.

Yanbu, I work for a small business and customers are worse than they've ever been.

We've recently had a rash of customers placing orders and expecting same day dispatch for next day delivery despite it saying on every step of our online checkout that it can take us up to three working days. Also endless moaning about us nor being open on Sundays.

We have a minority of customers who are lovely though, it's just the majority who are rude.

I really believe that everyone should work in retail or hospitality in their lives.

The number of business contacts I would go out for meals with and they wouldn’t say please and thank you to waiting staff. Barely looked at them. Shop assistants are shocked when I say ‘have a nice day’.

I went to pick up an order from Argos last night. A couple were laying into the manager because something they put in their online basket but didn’t check out, and didn’t pay for, wasn’t there. They couldn’t grasp this.

Op you might like the website notalwaysright.com

@Nomnomarrgh

There was a really cool quote in The Times, early Sept I think it was, saying that there are way more nice people in the world. But their nature of keeping themselves to themselves and not being a bother means you don’t notice them.

Hence the saying 'the squeaky wheel gets the oil'.

Are you not a member of the general public OP?

@RoysFrankenstein

Yes I am. And the irony isn’t lost on me. But I like to think I behave decently. I am genuinely shocked by the conduct of some people nowadays. Maybe I’m showing my age but I think it’s unacceptable

It is not helped by people such as Philip Green and Mike Ashley running retailing that in a way encourages such unpleasant behaviour.

I agree. People are horrible now. Prior to C-19 I used to shop in the middle of the night and do everything I could to avoid other humans.

For the first time in my life I am DDog free. Now that and hating people is a wasteland of a life

DC works in Tesco express.
This week he has had someone throw a display on the floor because the scratchcard lost and someone offer to fight him because he was acting like a G asking for ID. I'm so glad he's more laid back than me, every shift he has one.

People are horrible and it is getting worse I think.
It's depressing really.
Please and thank you cost nothing to say , but some can't even manage that.
If I say thanks to anyone they look a bit shocked ; I find that sad!
I always say ' thank you for your time' if I've received good customer service and thanks even if I haven't. Being pleasant is a dying art I think!

I do think there are more people now who feel entitled to complain aggressively if anything in hospitality is not exactly how they wanted it. I don't know if this is linked to the increase in customer reviews (trip adviser etc)?

Last Summer I was embarrassed and disgusted at the behaviour of some of my fellow Brits on holiday. We were in a small all inclusive hotel in a lovely area and paid less than it would have cost us for a week in a static caravan in the UK. Yet loads of people were complaining very rudely about not being served 5* food and drink. I also witnessed a group of people demanding their money back after a day at the local water park (booked via the hotel for the same price as a ticket on the door but with transport included) because it was not as big as the park they'd been to the previous year in Spain- entirely overlooking the fact that this day out had cost them less than the equivalent of about £7 each including transport (or the fact that the hotel did not own the park and had not made any claims about how big it was etc).

I used to be airline cabin crew and since then I have sworn never to work in public facing role ever again.

I did briefly work as a librarian in a university but transferred to an office job. The way some students spoke to staff...and leaving books and rubbish all over the floor.

I now work in an office role with no public interaction at all and WFH is even better.

@ErrolTheDragon

I bet there have been similar complaints throughout recorded time, just like there are about 'the youth of today'.

Odd post though - as if the OP considers themselves not part of, and distinctly above being 'a member of the public'.

I reckon that the Internet has made things worse. It's shortened everyone's attention span.

An old friend of my husbands was a tour rep for years and she said that people ' only went on holiday to moan ' ! Now they are moaning they can't go away as much ..

It's always been this way. I was working in a very high end store about 10 years ago and I left because I couldn't deal with the rudeness of customers. More than rudeness, it was just a general disregard for you as a person. I was snapped at and issued orders by customers before I could even open my mouth to greet them. No one said please or thank you, money thrown at you, shouting, swearing, tutting, bullying, the lot. Chewing gum spat out into the cash desk for me to put in the bin. Called an idiot, told I just worked in a shop so I knew nothing, and told more than once "Don't make me shout at you/give you a slap."

Women aged 55-65 were the absolute worst. So, in answer to your post - it has always been this way (in my humble opinion).

@TheQueef

See that’s the kind of behaviour I’m referring to. And @Hesnotlocal I have also been embarrassed by fellow Brits on holiday, shouting food orders in English at the poor waiters; repeatedly shouting, as though they’ll understand the louder they are. It’s awful

I'm mid fifties and always been polite especially to retail staff or cleaners as I have done all those jobs and been looked down upon! It's horrible.
I'm sad that everyone is so dreadful.
Why though? No need half the time.

I once had some lovely photos done of my kids. I rang the company, said I had photos done at x on y date & was really pleased at how they had turned out & wanted to say thank you. The woman on the end of the phone was obviously expecting a complaint at first and then said I had made her day for being so nice. I could hear the smile in her voice when she said goodbye which was lovely.

I'm in retail, where have been in danger a lot lately because of queues and Covid restrictions. In fact I'm about to go in now and dreading it..will have to 'run the gauntlet' ie queue of angry public making threats

because their Click and Collect orders may not be ready

Makes me laugh when I read that we have all come together over Covid. I think it’s the opposite and has brought out the worst, most entitled behaviour for many.

Coffee, I phoned a florist to say to say thanks and they were also a bit shocked!
It doesn't take long or effort to just say something nice.
The #bekind thing has gone out the window lately! :(
) I know covid has been bad but doesn't excuse terrible manners or behavior)

I admit that I did have a moan on here about a few retail staff being ' over zealous' about the restrictions etc , but I'm nice to them and realize it's their job to be this way. They were told to do it etc. it's not up to them and they were trying to protect the public too.
Some people do not care at all and are just horrible and pushed in and made life hell. Not on.

I have a really interesting book called The Checkout Girl by Tazeen Ahmad. She was a journalist who started working as a cashier at Sainsburys in the 2008 recession. Some of the customers are horrible.