Am I really so different?

[Akasa]

Reading the threads here I'm starting to think I am. Here's the thing. I intereact with who ever is ringing me up, tell them to have a nice day after we're done and I'm picking up my bags. When eating out I thank the waitstaff for bringing my food, refilling my drink, etc. If I'm somewhere new ask what the waitstaff suggests as far as food goes(because I have no clue what most the food on the menu is), and usually leave at least a 20% tip.

[Aethian]

I try to be personable but so many times the waitstaff blows me off I've given up trying in some places. There are few times I get to be able to do that but it seems to be getting rarer.

[joe hx]

i always try to be nice. i really like it when i can make a tired, overworked, underappreciated, and harassed cashier smile (especially if she's female). it also takes a lot for me not to tip, and i always try to tip decently.

[Red_Dazes]

No no. You are not different. You see, there are really many very nice and considerate people. The problem is, it's the ones who are ASSES who stand out. It's the jerk who shoves his plate on the floor or refuses to tip a black waiter that we remember. It's the mom who bitches you out to your manager for telling her kids not to run that stays with us, its the fucktard who yells at us for doing our jobs that really gets under our skin.
The nice people are like the cream cheese on a bagel. It's there and we love it... but the bad people are that fly that lands on your bagel and gets stuck. ...It ruins it.

[Akasa]

It gives me some faith in humanity to hear I'm not a rare occurance.

[Food Lady]

Ditto what everyone else said and this: food is the worst type of service industry job.

[BethB]

I have always been polite. At least I hope I am. Thanking the servers for refills and such. Tipping large. The hubby wasn't like this. Took me years of training him to say thanks for refills. He kinda got the hint when I thanked the servers for him.

[blas]

I'm always polite as possible. But as soon as I'm stereotyped or treated like garbage for no reason, I'm not a nice girl anymore.

For example....if I walk into an auto parts store, I will smile and be friendly, but the moment my intelligence is questioned, I become a total bitch and will treat the sexist piece of shit the same way he treated me. I'm not a Jessica Simpson clone walking into an auto parts store drooling with my finger in my ear going "Uhhhh I neeed that thingy that makes your car turn on?"....I walk in and say "Hello, I called earlier about a battery for a 1998 Dodge Neon?" (just an example. I always call around though, before I pick a certain auto store).

Fortunately, I don't get stereotyped or treated like dirt very often. Nine times out of ten, employees at stores see me walk up with a warm smile and a hello and it's like they feel a certain relief.

[finlayfox]

Well... as a server i can say this.
When it is busy and i have a nice table, i give them as much time as i can without sacrificing service to my other tables. Sometimes this means i am not able to do anything more for them than with the EW table that treats me like shit.
When i have the time and i get a table with a person/people that actually care that i am alive i will give them my almost undivided attention. i love to joke and smile and make people's days brighter. I love the times when i can say i just made that person's day, or that they had just made my day.

[mandaliz8704]

I am also a polite person, I say thank you so much I start to annoy myself. I have actually had cashiers and waiters/waitresses do a double take when I thank them. One even said "Whoa, you thanked me!" and laughed. I felt really bad for that guy.

WTF is so hard about the most basic of manners? People just suck.

[MoxisPilot]

No no. You are not different. You see, there are really many very nice and considerate people. The problem is, it's the ones who are ASSES who stand out. It's the jerk who shoves his plate on the floor or refuses to tip a black waiter that we remember. It's the mom who bitches you out to your manager for telling her kids not to run that stays with us, its the fucktard who yells at us for doing our jobs that really gets under our skin.
The nice people are like the cream cheese on a bagel. It's there and we love it... but the bad people are that fly that lands on your bagel and gets stuck. ...It ruins it.

To top it off, most times the "good" customers do things you never really find out about.

When I worked at a theme park, I'd see customer after customer...and would never know which one was complimenting me to management (I'd just see the bonus in my paycheck).

The only ones I was aware of were the customers who were total shits.