People just don't care

I know I tend to vent a lot, but what else should a blog be for anyway? Have you ever heard about the golden rule? Treat others as you would like to be treated? Right? Its basically "empathy" and exercising your "empathy." In the service or retail industry you really learn how people tend to see you as less-than-human. I mean, I still won't tip someone 15% because that's the minimum. If they did well, I will tip 20% usually because its easier to calculate. If not, they get closer to 10% if that. But, and let me stress this, I am ALWAYS polite the whole time. Where I work, the people that come in are usually in a hurry, at about the rate of people who come into Starbucks for their morning JOE.
If they are on their cellphone when they come to checkout I MIGHT get a few nods and such, but I, the person who is actually here in the real world, will always be seconded to the person who is on the phone. My favorite is when they say "excuse me" to the person on the phone, and don't even give me the same courtesy. I really like that some companies are putting "no cellphone in line" signs up.
The next problem is with people who think that everything is my fault even though I work as an end user for the "man". I have NO authority. The complaints you are rambling on about are falling on deaf ears. Also whatever you are saying I have heard at least 20 times that day already. You are not unique. I LOVE when people bring up how much money they spend and how things should be different because of this. I guess they want to go back to a feudal society, where there are slaves and indentured servants.
And sometimes, rarely someone will talk to me in a way that makes me want to punch them in the face. They speak almost on the level of verbal abuse, which for some reason they think they can do without recourse. I always think ,"Would this person speak to a stranger on the street like this?" Probably not because right now they know their is a counter between me and them, and they know I would get fired for laying a hand on a customer. So just think about that CUSTOMERS, the checker you are yelling at may be on his or her last day too, and they may not have to take your crap this time.

Things I have noticed in Retail...

I have noticed some things, let me know if you concur with them or not.
1. Early in the morning 8:00-9:00 am people usually pay cash instead of credit.
2. Older people love bags, no matter how small the object they want that bag for it. Leading me to believe that old people are responsible for all the bags in the landfills:)
3. No body wants more credit cards. They will tell you this bluntly. If they do want a card its because they have never had a card before, or they don't speak English when I explain it to them, or they don't realize that credit is why our country is going under right now.
4. If you come to my register early in the morning with your Starbucks Latte, I seriously want to punch you in the face, because I want one, and cannot get one.
5. Everyone has heard this line before: "Well I didn't find everything...I was looking for a bag of money (or todays winning lottery ticket, or a bucket of money, or a million bucks)" Please stop saying it.
6. People who buy TV's 40" and under will show up with a minivan or Hummer or 13 passenger van. People who buy TV's 45" and above will show up with their Yaris 4dr, or Mercedes and expect it to fit across the back seat. Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. Please think of how big the box is going to be first:)
7. Nearly everyone who pays with a lot of cash: Hates the government, has some conspiracy theory about the government, or is trying to fly "under the radar".
8. People who work for the government make LOTS of money, I can tell by the accessories they wear. They also don't mind waiting for things because they are getting paid regardless.
Maybe I will ad some more later.

Ahhh the art of Tipping

And I don't mean cow tipping, well unless your wait staff is unusually heavy set it wouldn't be considered cow tipping. I am talking about tipping your waiter/waitress, movers, carhop, car washer, etc. I was in a discussion with a friend on how much to tip a mover. First of all, I guess it depends on if these people get a fair wage. But then again, why should you have to make up the difference if they don't get a fair wage? You didn't choose their career, its a free country right? A good example is being a waiter at your local restaurant. They give you 2.55 or some crap per hour. Then on top of that you get tips? Add that all up what do you get per hour per night of work? Maybe 10$ per hour with tips? I don't know. But now compare that to a Barista at your local Starbucks. They get at least 8.00/hr, and they also get tips, albeit not as large as a restaurant but they still get them. They also offer health care, pretty good health care, for anyone working more than 20 hours per week. I guess my point is that if you are complaining that people don't tip enough you are at the wrong job. Its like working for commission and griping that you aren't selling enough. Its your fault. There will always be a steady inflow of teenage kids in High School to work all these crappy jobs, so move on and find something worth while.

And by the way waiters and waitresses, I am not going to give you more than 20% tip. I remember when 15% tip was good enough, now people have made it 20%. Its the same job you have always been doing, you can't say "inflation" because I am giving you a flat percentage that goes up with inflation. 20% is my best and final offer!