Ah, yes! Time to celebrate the workers! Have a day off! Unless you work in retail, restaurants, toll booths, fire houses...not everyone gets a day off. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, it is most important to note that not all workers are celebrated on this day, and because I was scarred for life during my time as a server (and behind the counter) I want to take this opportunity to remind you to be kind to ALL who serve you.
Please. Thank you. Have a nice day. All those little phrases you mother taught you (if she was worth her salt) may have fallen out of our daily vocabularies, but it is up to YOU as a consumer to bring these words back into vogue.
Hello. How are you? If someone should greet you with these words while you're standing at a counter and staring at a menu the proper answer is not "Give me..." or "I want..." The person behind the counter is not going to GIVE YOU anything! And maybe they care about what you want, but I bet they'd rather hear "May I please have..."
A little manners goes a long way. Never forget these poor bastards are making minimum wage. And I bet their boss treats them like they're expendable, most of the customers before you were rude and the customers after you will suck just as much. Why not lead by example and treat them with respect?
Always make the effort. You just might make their day!
So Happy Labor Day! Remember who really runs this country - the people who fucking feed it! All the bankers and CEO's would starve to death if it wasn't for the minimum wage workers from farm to friggin' plate - or Styrofoam clam shell. I'm betting the magical day when wages reflect this reality will never come - so let's try to pay them in smiles. At least their quality of life will increase, if not their paychecks. And I'll take happy over rich any day.
-HH
Check out this article in the New York Times
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comments:
I feel like our country has a "serf class" of retail workers who have to work on holidays so the rest of us can enjoy life's nonessential pleasures. Do you really need a latte on Labor Day? Or Thanksgiving? Or Christmas, for that matter? One of my big motivators to finish college (as I was making lattes on Thanksgiving) was to find a job where I didn't have to work on holidays. If I was in nursing school that would have been a different story... But nurses are essential 365 days a year. Lattes are not. -- Jessie
Post a Comment