How would you rate you?

I had a conversation with a young man last week about ratings. He works part-time at Starbucks and mentioned how great it would be if companies could rate customers.
 
ratingsI remember when Yelp came on the scene in full force. The ability to share my thoughts and experiences about places I visited was a major milestone. Unlike times past when my thoughts were regulated to my circle for friends, family and the company with either a sternly worded letter of complaint or in person words of compliment, Yelp along with other sites brought our reviews to the forefront.
 

But let’s go back to reviewing customers. The young man said how SO many customers are rude, disrespectful and just plain nasty. I’ve seen this in full effect. Most of the time, I’m completely shocked at how customers treat those that are there to help, to serve. Granted, in some instances the establishment and their staff could do better but in others, it’s the customers that are the bad egg. Even downright rotten and stinky.

The customer is always right.
I believe I first heard this quote at my first job at McDonald’s. McDonald’s had it’s own university and everything. Customer service was the #1 priority. Take away from the cost and convenience, McDonald’s stood out in service. There was a limit to the number of minutes a car had to wait in drive-thru. If you did wait, the Mickey D’s employee had to run your order to your car. (I know this from personal experience because I got in trouble for not doing this…I sauntered.) McDonald’s even had birthday cakes and parties. (Again, personal experience seeing that I was the birthday hostess at the store I worked AND because I chose to work on my birthday one year, my mom paid for a party that I HAD TO WORK.) As employees we were paid to serve regardless if the customer was “difficult.”.
 
But is the customer always right? Absolutely, positively NOT!
I’ve seen some customers that I wanted to punch out on behalf of the employee. Or, I’ve had that shocked face similar to the Target Lady from SNL:
SNL Target Lady

Ok, maybe she’s not the best example considering the customer service she provides. You get where I’m coming from though, don’t you?

Let’s play, What If?

What if…at every store, hotel, airline, coffee shop or restaurant you frequented you were rated on your attitude, respectfulness, kindness, and attentiveness to the employees of that business?

How would you rate?

What if…as customers we could rate other customers based on our observations. It’s just a hypothetical question. I can only imagine morning commutes and office environments if folks couldn’t get their:

A grande extra hot 2 percent extra foam, half squirt of sugar-free vanilla and a half squirt of hazelnut, in a venti cup and fill up the “room” with extra whipped cream with caramel and chocolate sauce drizzled on top.

Again, what if, a customer knew they were being rated. Do you believe their attitude would change if they knew they were going to be cut-off from their favorite <insert guilty pleasure or necessary life service here>?

For so many, there is a sense of entitlement. I say, get over it. Unless you have access to the ultimate of ultimates, super secret, beyond exclusive, no one but you can have it, you need to kick the idea and the entitled attitude to the curb.

An even better solution is one I learned a long time ago. Maybe you’ve heard of it? The Golden Rule

golden rule

 

I would also say, make sure you can take whatever you are dishing out. “Cause payback…

 

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