Why are customers so rude nowadays?

Question

I currently work in a bar at a top London Hotel. I do the phrase "The customer is always right" but this is the only bar I've ever worked in where some of the customers are so offensivley insulting in many ways. Last night, even though this guy was very drunk he was two inches from my face screaming full on blast over something which was his own fault. Another guy has snapped his fingers at me, and another once when I went to make sure they were ok for drinks etc snapped at me to "f*** off!"

I used to enjoy bar work, but if any of you rude customers out there are reading this, please take note that it's because of you lot that it is hard to find many decent bar/waiting people. Your behaviour is farcical if not soul destroying.

Does anybody have any thoughts on this matter?

Answer 1

And so say all of us who work with the public!

Answer 2

Yeah I have worked in customer service of one sort or another most of my life. One of the things I have found with rude people is their expectations. more often than not when someone who is being rude is doing it they are doing it to make up for their own shortcomings in one way or another. For example I had a lady screaming and shouting at me once. She was complaining about a cold plate of food, I calmed her down offered her a fresh plate of food or a refund on her dinner. It turned out she had had a really stressful day and this had been 'the straw that broke the camel's back.' Often that is the case, it is not you 'personally' the person is venting their 'rudeness' at it is their life where they are at now. Often in a service industry the thing that they are getting so rude or angry about isn't life or death, it just becomes that way to them when they can not communicate their feelings.
Other people are rude because they are tossers and to be honest they're not worth the energy. Let them be tossers, but whatever your job you are not paid enough money to stand there and just take it. I am not saying start a fight or argument, but either try and get to the bottom of what they want or walk away as there is nothing in your job description that says 'Must stand there and take unjustified abuse from ignorant people who should know better.'

Answer 3

I completely agree with u. I used to work in customer services, i have never come across a ruder bunch of customers in my life. It's absolutely disgraceful how some people think that they can treat people who are trying to help them like a piece of dirt. The good thing about my job was that we were allowed to give it back to a certain extent. Not by being rude obviously..because theres no point in stooping to that level, but by simply telling them to stop being so goddam rude and arrogant...in the nicest way possible of course!! lol.. But i do know exactly what u mean. A rude customer like that can just make u feel like **** and ruin your whole day. Its horrible. Cheer up though, cos believe it or not, there are still some decent people out there who actually appreciate what you're doing. :))

Answer 4

If you work in the Service Sector you are directly up against a cross section of the whole community. Some of them are good -mannered and the others just don't deserve to receive any kind of service.

Unfortunately there is nothing that we can do about ignorant behaviour. The best advice is to keep away from them if possible and don't react.

Answer 5

oh hun get out of it you dont need that aggro from arrogant over opinionated small penis-ed men. Its not worth it, when i was younger i used to do the same as you, but never ever stood for that sort of thing, i actually used to walk out if i got treated like that. Your a human being, as they are, i now am in a financial position to treat people like that but would never dream of doing so. you will be good at something else or even another pub, try a local rather than the pillocks meeting place. Nicer people. And if you insist on carrying on working there, i.e. tips are better. When they start find your own way of coping i would spill the drink all down them, but that aside, remember they get constipation and piles like the rest of us... that should put a smile on your face. Good luck xxx

Answer 6

i used to work for a few months at M&S in a posh area of London..u'd expect a more 'refined' behaviour from the customers who were truly posh and loaded! but i couldn't believe how rude and how lowly they treated me!attending sales racks were the worst, because these high and mighty customers would pick something up, not like it and then drop it anyhow on the hangers knowing full well that it would fall to the ground. and then when it did, they would look at it and walk away without even an 'oops'! i had to leave that place because of this treatment as well as to save my dignity!

Answer 7

That happens to Bartenders.
(and baggers at the supermarket)

Just because the people got money doesn't mean they got class.

Dealing with that stuff is part of Bartenders skill set.
In the dives and in the fancy places.

Don't know how long you been doing that work.

Maybe you just need to get thicker skin and maybe read people a little better????

You aren't getting that good money just for mixing drinks and schmoozing:):):)

Dealing with a-holes part of the job.

Answer 8

My thoughts are that some people are taking rude to new heights of lunacy.
Try not to be too bothered, they are nothing but gits. I can't say they are prats because they are not classy enough for that. They are rude crude louts with an expense account or credit cards.
Worse, they are the lousiest tippers!

I am sorry you have had such horrid people in your place of work.

--That Cheeky Lad

Answer 9

I am old enough to have seen that personal standards have steadily slid downhill all my lifetime. I can only conclude that 90% of people try only as hard as they are compelled to by authority in any respect. Obsession with sport, loud behaviour and swearing in public, lack of personal cleanliness let alone manners were the province of the despised minority. Not any longer.

Answer 10

two sides to this really,the first probably relates more to your situation.
1) if they have money, they probably think that it doesn't matter what thy do as they'll always be ok and dont have to worry about offending people as they'll always have people hanging off them. plus, they probably think those without money are worthless scum shuld be pleased that they even get to be near them.

2) a more general answer is that custoemrs are now more used to getting exactly what they want, whether loaded or not, so if they cant find something or need someone to help them they are usually annoyed and hence sometimes rude.

Answer 11

Your customers have the luxury of being drunk as their excuse as an ex-healthworker mine had no excuse. Really gets to you when you are only trying to help and all they give you is agro, I've been threatened , shouted at, sworn at, hit, bitten and spat at in my 10 years health experience.
Yes I feel people on the whole are becoming less thoughtful and bloody rude.