A lot of customer-facing jobs can actually be fun. But only if management and corporate backs-up their front-line employees. If employees don’t feel like they can stand-up for themselves against the rare bad customer, they eventually lose their empathy for all their customers.
So while an engaged and supported employee can tell the difference between someone having a bad day and someone who’s just a jerk, the exhausted and unappreciated employee doesn’t care and just treats any non-standard reaction as being a jerk. The first employee is empowered to help that customer and maybe brighten their day. The second employee just wants to get home and have a drink.
Customers can be horrible. But (for the most part) it’s employers that create horrible employees.
