How the idea 'the customer is always right' is ruining our society

I've been working at Starbucks for 5 months now. This is my last week since I am moving to camp, but with that, I have some thoughts from a customer service worker point of view.

We are told that the customer is always right. We have to do as much as we can to make the customer completely satisfied. That means, the ruder you are, the more you get. The more you bitch about your coffee (or whatever the situation might be), the more likely you are to get free stuff.

Is it so important that we keep this one piece of crap costumer that we make the policy of 'the costumer is always right'? This teaches people that whining and being rude will get you everything you want.

When making rules and guidelines for how employees are to act (or any other type of rules) you can't leave grey. You can't say, 'do whatever you reasonably can do to help a customer who is giving you the opportunity.' There's too much wiggle room. Any jackass who doesn't want to work can claim the customer was being rude or asking too much. So we say the customer is always right. Always.

So here's my answer, what I think we need more of. Gratitude. As a customer service worker, I want to make sure you get what you need, I want to do whatever I can to make you smile. But I need some recognition. Be thankful and aware of what I'm doing. If I make something wrong or someone wants a little something special, I am 100% more happy to do it if that person acknowledges my effort.

The moral of the story is be observant of how people are serving you and be grateful for that.

Quotes for Grad School Apps

Instead of asking yourself what the world needs,
ask yourself what makes you come alive,
and then go do that.
Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
-Howard Thurman


Vocation is where our greatest passion meets the world’s greatest need.
-Frederick Buechner

Maybe I should do this some more...

Opps...life happens.

I feel as if there is too much for me to write now but it is better to put anything than to just let the heap keep growing like the pile of clothes on my floor that are so unclear as to whether they are clean or dirty that I think they have invented a third option of which I am unaware of.

So here is a list of things I should write about and that you should want to hear about :)

Starbucks
Physics
Thailand
Grad School Apps
and the best of all:
The Center for Nature and Christian Spirituality

So I move in just under a week. TO CAMP! What?!?!?!? I know, right? I'll give a short overview. I'm living in intentional community with three other apprentices. We are taking spirituality classes at the San Francisco Theological Seminary. We are involved in the environmental education and challenge course happenings at camp. We are doing a sacred quest. And oh so much more. In reality we don't know exactly what it will look like because it's the first year. WHEEEEEEE!

Here's the website if you care to take a peek:
http://westminsterwoods.org/cncs/

But I should write in this more often. I will give it a try, old pal.

LOVE