I know what it is like to serve others and I know it’s not always a great job. That said I also know that it is unacceptable to be nasty to people, unless of course they are screaming at you and throwing things (yes, I have experienced this too!).

I got an international order last night and I was trying to figure out how to do all the customs paperwork needed to ship internationally. I tried all night to get the shipping label and customs documents to go through online, nothing was working so I decided to visit the local FedEx store today to try and get it shipped that way. I figured a live person would be more equip to help me through this process, boy was I wrong!

When I arrived I was cheerfully greeted by a younger guy who was helping another customer. We headed over to the waybill shipping forms and were trying to find the form we needed. I was shipping international ground today and did not see the waybil form anywhere on the self service counter.

My boyfriend asked the available worker where we could find the form we needed, the worker told us that they could not sell international ground service through the store. I asked why because it was available for purchase online. Instead of answering me or explaining the policy he choose not to help me and said he would get his shipping manager for me.

When his shipping manager arrived I was trying to package the box up and she walked over and asked how she could assist me. I told her I wanted to ship via international ground service because I could not get the sale to process online.

Instead of trying to help me she was very defensive and was basically ready for a fight over it all. She did not listen to my needs and was not interested in offering solutions; she simply wanted me to ship via international air instead of international ground.

I assume she only listened to the first part of my statement because she was only interested in telling me no and was not even trying to help me with the “could not get the sale to process online” part.

The international ground charge was $14 as opposed to the international air charge of $36… Of course I did not want to pay more but my main reason for going into the store at all was to get assistance with the paperwork and requirements of customs for my shipment since it was not working online.

Unfortunately this “manager” was not interested in providing service, she did not listen to me and she was expecting a battle. I was not in the mood to be attacked or challenged so we just left the store but the whole situation just makes me mad.

I thought dealing with people as opposed to conducting business online would be more helpful but I was wrong. At least the FedEx website is not rude to me and uninterested in providing help.

If you are a service worker you need to be in control of your attitude. If someone treats you badly (and they often do in the service industry) you need to be able to brush it off. It’s not acceptable to be rude to people because a previous customer was rude to you. Each new customer deserves fair and friendly treatment regardless of how your day has been! If you cannot provide this you need a new job.

Ugh! I just don’t appreciate being treated how I was today. This is why I prefer to do business via computer, most people are just a pain to interact with! It’s sad that computers are replacing good old fashion human interaction… Maybe if people weren’t so nasty and impossible to work with we would not be inclined to remove them from the equation.

The post You don't need to be nasty- A rant about service industry workers appeared first on Updates from Ryder Family Farm.

… and I believe it is true. The thing that bothers me most is people who are bitter or angry and insist on trying to ruin everybody else’s day.

Yesterday was my day off and I was set on trying to enjoy it despite all the things that weigh on me. I garden when I want to relax or to have some personal time so when I got home from teaching I went to check on my garden. I and was starting to clean the kitchen with the back door open. The cats were laying outside in the sun and then I heard these rustling bags outside. I have to keep an eye on my cats because sometimes they jump the fence, so I poke my head outside to see if the cats are planning an escape..

I am expecting to see the cats hopping the fence but instead I find my next door neighbor tossing plastic grocery bags over our fence and into our yard. I was shocked and angered by this rude act so I told our our neighbor she could have her bags back while handing them back over the fence. She then begins calling me names and saying I threw the bags into her yard first and that I am rude and immature and that I don’t even own the place I am living in…

This shocks me even more and I am trying to keep my cool. I said something to the effect of “you are crazy” while I gathered the plastic bags up and took them inside. Once inside I called N and told him what had just happened.

This is not one freak incident between us and our neighbor. From the time we moved in we had had issues. Our landlords warned us about the assigned parking situation in our town-home complex and we have always been courteous of our neighbors by NOT parking in their spots. Our neighbor has not done the same.

I would come home from work pretty late some night to find her car or her guests cars parked in our assigned spots. We had to knock on her door to get the car moved and a few times she would not answer her door at all so we had to leave a note on the windshield of the car and park directly behind it.

We called the cops on her once over the parking situation but they could not help us. The parking situation irritated us but we never did anything nasty to her town-home.

However, recently she has been doing everything she can to annoy us. One morning at around 6 or 7 am she set out to wake us up. First she dumped her trash on the sidewalk outside our front door, she kicked and scattered the trash noisily in an attempt to pick it all up, then she got to the trash can and slammed the lid 7 or 8 times before emptying her trash, next she went to scraping the ice off her sidewalk with her aluminum shovel and last she went inside to bang up and down our shared wall.

Some days it seems she just freaks out, yesterday was no exception. After our verbal confrontation a cop comes knocking on my door about a barking dog complaint. The cop could not contact out neighbor who placed the call and he joked with me about the situation. He recommended we try to document all that is happening either on video or through an audio tape recording… We are just not that interested in spending that much energy on something so negative.

I feel bad for the lady next door, she is alone and is angry quite often. I just don’t want to encounter the negativity anymore..

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