Take
The other day, at my place of employ, a woman took part in what is swiftly becoming the new American Pasttime right in front of my eyes.
No, not that.
This new broadly accepted and even oft boasted phenomenon is the practice of complaining your ass off until you get something, usually that something being what you want plus. Plus what? Plus whatever it is that whoever's life you're making miserable is willing to give you to make you go away and never darken their ticket booth again.
Mayhap I should explain.
We have a pretty strict schedule at my place of business, as we have a limited amount of space and large groups of people coming through said area. By keeping to the schedule, we're able to herd these mind-cattle along at a good pace and keep everything running smoothly and, at the same time, keep everybody happy. Now, to make sure the groups understand their schedule so they can plan accordingly, they are mailed pre-visit packages of information weeks before they come, detailing their day, the time frame, the specifics, even the information they'll cover. We take care of any contigency in the packet, so that their day will go smoother when they actually arrive.
This does not sway some people from their "I DO WHATEVER I WANT" mentality.
They don't read the packet we sent them (it ain't a small packet, people. Anything in the mail you could hurt someone with by throwing it across the room is probably important) or they choose not to read the specific part of the packet that pertains to the ONE THING they coincidentally don't want to acknowledge... so on.
One such group came through, in this instance arriving a good hour before their start time. There are other groups in the Center at this point, and to let them in would not only throw off the schedule, affecting every other group and demonstrator on the floor, but populating the floor with way too many kids for anyone to be able to enjoy their time. We suggest that, it being such a nice day, they go over to the park for a bit and get some sun. Vehemently this sugestion is struck from the air.
Basically, the woman screamed and yelled until we compromised, letting the kids wait in an on-site restaurant until we could move them into the orientation area, show them a video in the interim, and then finally get them out on the floor fifteen minutes early.
So... after that epic... here's my problem...
When did we lose our balls, people? When did the American business acumen become one of bowing and scraping? Yes, be courteous. Yes, be respectful. But don't kowtow to these bullies who do nothing but perpetuate the idea of complaining-for-profit. If you whine, you get something. Period. That is not how things should be. If the business has legitimately done something incorrect, then yes, of course, you should be compensated. But just walking into a place and accusing and complaining until you get a free dessert is low. LOW.
We cared that the kids got there early, and didn't want them just sitting around for an hour waiting for the fun to start. The woman in charge of them simply didn't want to have to watch the kids to any great effort on her part, thinking taking them to the Center would have easily put them out of her hands. She whined and we caved. This is not how things should be.
I remember back when I was manager for this small, independent movie theatre, sometimes there'd be no one else working but me. I'd be selling tickets, then selling concessions, then starting the film, then cleaning up after the swine that watch movies (and yes, we are all pigs, as I learned working there). After all that work, running the place by myself, I considered it as much mine as it was the owners. Lord knows I was spending more time there. People would come in with attitude, making themselves known a mile away, and rather than just giving in and handing over whatever they wanted, I stood my ground. If they acted politely, they could have the same complaint but be given more just for their good handling of the situation.
Teach these people a lesson, you droves of entrepeneurs! Let them know you won't be bullied anymore.Yes, you might make slightly less money at first, but soon the face of the business world will shift, and people will realize they aren't getting anymore freebies from their basic preset of being assholes.
Perpetuating the idea that assholishness=free shit only darkens the image and nature of our society as a whole. The overall average of people acting like spoiled shits and demanding morons will only increase and only propagate the negativity we see so prevalently these days until we decide not to give ground to them anymore. Stand up for yourselves for once, people! Put money aside for a second and look to your dignity. When you hand them that free pass, that free candy bar, that sooner-starting-time, you are giving them a peice of your dignity.
They're being assholes, and you're losing face. We are all damaged in the face of hate, aggression, and everyday, socially-accepted nastiness. We all grow bleaker and darker because of it.
Be a better person. Think of others. Stand up for yourself, and respect those around you. It's its own reason.
Seriously. Watch Ghostbusters II.
No, not that.
This new broadly accepted and even oft boasted phenomenon is the practice of complaining your ass off until you get something, usually that something being what you want plus. Plus what? Plus whatever it is that whoever's life you're making miserable is willing to give you to make you go away and never darken their ticket booth again.
Mayhap I should explain.
We have a pretty strict schedule at my place of business, as we have a limited amount of space and large groups of people coming through said area. By keeping to the schedule, we're able to herd these mind-cattle along at a good pace and keep everything running smoothly and, at the same time, keep everybody happy. Now, to make sure the groups understand their schedule so they can plan accordingly, they are mailed pre-visit packages of information weeks before they come, detailing their day, the time frame, the specifics, even the information they'll cover. We take care of any contigency in the packet, so that their day will go smoother when they actually arrive.
This does not sway some people from their "I DO WHATEVER I WANT" mentality.
They don't read the packet we sent them (it ain't a small packet, people. Anything in the mail you could hurt someone with by throwing it across the room is probably important) or they choose not to read the specific part of the packet that pertains to the ONE THING they coincidentally don't want to acknowledge... so on.
One such group came through, in this instance arriving a good hour before their start time. There are other groups in the Center at this point, and to let them in would not only throw off the schedule, affecting every other group and demonstrator on the floor, but populating the floor with way too many kids for anyone to be able to enjoy their time. We suggest that, it being such a nice day, they go over to the park for a bit and get some sun. Vehemently this sugestion is struck from the air.
Basically, the woman screamed and yelled until we compromised, letting the kids wait in an on-site restaurant until we could move them into the orientation area, show them a video in the interim, and then finally get them out on the floor fifteen minutes early.
So... after that epic... here's my problem...
When did we lose our balls, people? When did the American business acumen become one of bowing and scraping? Yes, be courteous. Yes, be respectful. But don't kowtow to these bullies who do nothing but perpetuate the idea of complaining-for-profit. If you whine, you get something. Period. That is not how things should be. If the business has legitimately done something incorrect, then yes, of course, you should be compensated. But just walking into a place and accusing and complaining until you get a free dessert is low. LOW.
We cared that the kids got there early, and didn't want them just sitting around for an hour waiting for the fun to start. The woman in charge of them simply didn't want to have to watch the kids to any great effort on her part, thinking taking them to the Center would have easily put them out of her hands. She whined and we caved. This is not how things should be.
I remember back when I was manager for this small, independent movie theatre, sometimes there'd be no one else working but me. I'd be selling tickets, then selling concessions, then starting the film, then cleaning up after the swine that watch movies (and yes, we are all pigs, as I learned working there). After all that work, running the place by myself, I considered it as much mine as it was the owners. Lord knows I was spending more time there. People would come in with attitude, making themselves known a mile away, and rather than just giving in and handing over whatever they wanted, I stood my ground. If they acted politely, they could have the same complaint but be given more just for their good handling of the situation.
Teach these people a lesson, you droves of entrepeneurs! Let them know you won't be bullied anymore.Yes, you might make slightly less money at first, but soon the face of the business world will shift, and people will realize they aren't getting anymore freebies from their basic preset of being assholes.
Perpetuating the idea that assholishness=free shit only darkens the image and nature of our society as a whole. The overall average of people acting like spoiled shits and demanding morons will only increase and only propagate the negativity we see so prevalently these days until we decide not to give ground to them anymore. Stand up for yourselves for once, people! Put money aside for a second and look to your dignity. When you hand them that free pass, that free candy bar, that sooner-starting-time, you are giving them a peice of your dignity.
They're being assholes, and you're losing face. We are all damaged in the face of hate, aggression, and everyday, socially-accepted nastiness. We all grow bleaker and darker because of it.
Be a better person. Think of others. Stand up for yourself, and respect those around you. It's its own reason.
Seriously. Watch Ghostbusters II.
posted by DeadLanguage at 4:18 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home