By: Emily Schultz
“Please” and “thank you.” Was that so hard to say? Now, smile. Did it kill you to use all of two muscles in your face to look at least a little content with your life?
Both of these minuscule acts of kindness seem to have been forgotten by 99 percent of our society today. Working in a type of customer service role at The University of Akron, I experience every different type of person who could possibly come to mind. On a daily basis, I deal with students, or “customers,” who shout orders at me, demand that I give them something, do not even speak to me and expect my service. They often walk away without so much as a thank you.
It is absolutely unbelievable to me that people nowadays have the audacity to treat others in this manner. I don’t know about them, but I was raised to show people respect, treat them how I would want to be treated and to simply be kind. After hours of being belittled and disrespected on a daily shift, it really does wear down your ability to keep a smile on your face and continue to provide basic customer service. What ever happened to treating customer service representatives with respect? Think about it, don’t you usually get better service when you are polite and respectful? Or from another point of view, people tend to give better customer service when you approach them in a pleasant manner.
A smile is infectious, plain and simple. When someone is in a good mood and shares it with you, it tends to change your entire day. A positive attitude can stay with you and is just as contagious as a smile. The same idea applies to bad attitudes or a rude interaction. If someone is obnoxiously and unnecessarily rude to you, it definitely changes your whole mood for the day, or at least for the next few hours.
Bottom line: treat people with respect and use manners. Saying “please” and “thank you” is such a simple act of kindness, but it can help to turn someone’s day completely around. If you notice someone may be having a rough day, just smile and be polite. Those tiny gestures in life really do make a difference.
