sing like a sailor. You’d be surprised
how phony some people can be.”
Sometimes patrons direct their
boorish behavior at her, barking
orders, snapping fingers and just
showing poor manners. “There’s
always someone who will make
demanding commands and try to
talk down to you,” she says. “It’s
funny how their behavior changes
when they’re in with someone else
from work. It’s like they take on a
different persona.”
3
You Won’t Look Me
in the Eye
John has delivered packages for
DHL for the past 10 years. He
says he receives much of the same
treatment.
“You see it in the way some
people talk to you, how they won’t
look you in the eye or how they
snatch a scanner from your hand,”
he says. “Sometimes it’s as simple
as someone not saying a simple
thank you. Sometimes I chalk it up
to someone having a bad day and
I let it go. It’s not worth getting
worked up over.”
Richey believes those that do
exhibit these tendencies do so at
their own peril, both personally
and professionally. “It’s not about
your company,” she says. “It’s
about you. It should come from the
inside. It’s that confidence—that
kindness that has to start from the
inside first because it’s important
to you, not to ‘Mr. Smith, my
boss.’ Whether it’s shaking
someone’s hand or standing up
when someone walks into a room
.... There’s nothing greater than
walking into a room or standing
up to give someone a handshake.
You’re doing that out of self-respect and you’re doing it out of
respect for the other person. It’s a
two-way street. It has to be a part
of who you are if you truly want to
be successful.”
4
You Won’t Keep
Your Hands to Yourself
Sometimes bad behavior extends
beyond verbal abuse to the
physical. Terry, a parking-lot
attendant, is often entrusted to
park the expensive automobiles
of his patrons. Lexus, Mercedes,
BMW—he’s been behind the
wheel of them all and treats each
customer’s car with the greatest
care. But that hasn’t stopped him
from being pushed and shoved on
occasion from irate customers in a
rush to leave the lot at the end of a
long day.
“I’ve had people get frustrated
and say things like, ‘This is all you
do. This is all you’ll ever do. You’ll
work here until you die. You’ll
never make any money.’ They are
very rude … nasty,” he says. “Some
of the ones in suits and ties come
in their flashy cars and want to
make you feel like a slave … like
you’re only here to serve them.”
Service workers like Terry are
in precarious positions. If they respond in kind to the verbal attacks,
they risk losing their jobs. For his
part, Terry has learned to deal with
his patrons on a case-by-case basis
and says he never loses his cool.
