The customer is not always right
Film Festival takes hiatus, SB County hosts free vax event, and Joshua Tree National Park is free today!
Hello from California’s high desert. We’ve got a few days left of this heatwave, but the stillness of August is here to stay for a few more weeks. Locals are out of town, shops and restaurants are closed for a well-deserved break, and the brutal sun is starting to go down a bit earlier so we can enjoy the warm evenings. I hope you are able to take some time now to rest and savor these last few weeks of summer.
I read an incredible piece on the history of “the customer is always right” in The Atlantic this week and, ho boy, I cannot recommend it enough. Using the uptick in violence towards service workers, flight attendants, and other public-facing jobs, this story by Amanda Mull breaks down how companies convinced many middle-class Americans that service workers were there to serve them, just as servants did to folks that were actually wealthy. That positioning has led to what she calls the “entitled customer",” and has brought us to this particular moment in time.
Now, I've worked in service jobs most of my life. I worked in toy stores, customer service, and fast-casual dining from the ages of 15 to 23. My tenure spanned industries, locations, and my high school and college careers. To this day, I can easily recall the horror stories — like the time someone came to the restaurant directly after having their wisdom teeth removed and my having to clean up the booth in gloves after they left — of customers behaving badly.
Often, I was told to do whatever it was the customer asked. Individually wrap 30 Lego sets while simultaneously offering a bulk discount that came out of my paycheck? Sure, the customer is always right. Eat the cost of making customer service calls on my limited monthly phone plan? Just the cost of making the customer happy. Clean up blood with only gloves and a dirty rag? You bet, have a wonderful day, please come back soon.
I had these jobs because I needed these jobs. I needed to pay rent, or save for college, or pay my car insurance. I didn’t have the ability to rage-quit over a particularly insolent customer, and I envy anyone now that can.
Many customers made assumptions about my intelligence because of my job, assuming that I wasn’t smart enough to get something less precarious or less humiliating. But that’s not how the service industry is set up in America. The service industry is for anyone and everyone. Need a flexible work schedule because of childcare or transportation restrictions? Work in the service industry. Need to put yourself through college alongside a full class schedule? Work in the service industry. Trying to figure out what you want to do next with your life? Yep, the service industry.
I have watched customers chew out servers for accidentally serving them three beers instead of two. I have watched people scream at stockists for not having a particular brand of cereal in hand.
What was once a terrifying but memorable once-in-a-while occurrence happens so often now because service industry workers have decided that they are not going to take it. They need the job, yes, but not at the expense of their humanity. And humanity is extremely difficult to deal with these days because we’re all tired, we’re pessimistic, we’re stir crazy and bored. But that is absolutely no excuse to deny another human being their own humanity because of the job they have in this present moment.
Service industry workers can always recognize a current or former service industry worker because we make eye contact when we speak, we tip well regardless of the service itself, and we tidy the table before we get up. We do the literal bare minimum. We recognize that another human will have to clean up after us, will have to pay their rent on less-than-minimum wage, will have to talk to someone who barely recognizes they exist.
That our fellow humans cannot exert the bare minimum is disheartening, to say the least. If there’s one thing to come out of the pandemic, I would hope that it’s a renewed sense of our shared humanity and reliance on each other to make it through. Now let’s act like it.
And now, onto this week’s news:
The Pioneertown Film Festival is rescheduled indefinitely amid the ongoing surge of COVID-19 infections
Tuesday evening, the Pioneertown Film Festival organizers announced that the upcoming event would be postponed indefinitely.
Organizers said that the ongoing COVID-19 surge driven by the more contagious delta variant was to blame, saying that even some event modifications would likely not be enough to comply with potential restrictions down the line.
“Nobody really knows what this new surge will bring or any idea what will actually happen, but we have to err on the side of caution and safety. We hold the health of our friends and guests with a great deal of respect,” organizers told ticketholders in an email announcing the change.
The festival will honor existing ticketholders for the future event, which doesn’t currently have a firm date. It was previously scheduled to run from August 27 through August 29.
San Bernardino County is hosting free vaccination events on August 9 and 20 at the Yucca Valley Community Center
The San Bernardino County department of public health is hosting free vaccination events in Yucca Valley on August 9 and August 20.
All San Bernardino County residents age 12 and older are eligible for vaccination. The site will have Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccinations available at no cost, regardless of whether or not you have insurance.
Appointments are encouraged, but walk-ins will also be welcome. The site will be open from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. on both dates at the Yucca Valley Community Center at 57090 Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley.
You can pre-register for the event at MyTurn.ca.gov and provide the requested information or call the COVID-19 hotline at (909) 387-3911 Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m.
Today is the anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act, and all National Park sites are free to celebrate.
That includes Joshua Tree National Park. I highly recommend heading in to take advantage of the clear night skies tonight and go stargazing.
If you stop by an information or welcome center, you are required to mask up per federal and state guidelines.
National Parks offer six fee-free days this year. For the rest of 2021, entry fees are waived on August 25, September 25, and November 11.
Pupdate of the week: Alice had a bit of a health scare this week, so we’re all pretty frazzled. Lots of thanks to the folks at Companion Animal Clinic and the VCA in Yucca Valley for helping us out!
Trail tip of the week: Now is the perfect time to hike at night! The sky is incredible and extremely clear for the next few days. You can download an app to help identify different constellations or planets — I prefer SkyView Lite which was free and still works without internet in the park.
Book of the week: If you are a fan of Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer, I highly recommend The Wild Truth by Carine McCandless. The author is Chris McCandless’ sister, who provides some intriguing context that didn’t make either the movie or book. She is an extremely talented writer and walks through the events leading up to Chris’ disappearance and how she worked with Sean Penn to create the movie in a realistic way. It was a great reminder of how much we don’t know, even in stories that feel achingly familiar.
Show of the week: I’m still glued to the Olympics this week. Sport climbing started yesterday, and I’ve watched approximately 8 hours of qualifiers so far. Track is also making headlines and I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed the skateboarding competition this year. You can watch highlights on NBC every evening starting at 5 p.m. or catch replays on NBC Online all day.
Small business of the week
Aki Sushi has been getting us through the summer when most other places are closed for break, and I am extremely glad they kept the doors open. Sushi in the desert sounds counterintuitive, but everything is always terrific quality and the service is phenomenal. They also offer ramen, bento boxes, and teriyaki bowls if you prefer your protein cooked.
Aki Sushi is located at 57045 Twentynine Palms Highway in Yucca Valley. They are currently open for indoor dining, or you can order for takeout here or by calling (760) 365-7755.
That’s it for this week! Stay cool, and get outside!
- Megan
Thank you for talking about the rude customers in the service industry!
So true about the service industry, I have more nasty, rude, and entitled people in the last 18 months, than any job I’ve ever worked, I never complain if there is a line, never raise my voice because there is no shopping cart readily available, and I always use patience. Because I know that the workers are doing their best to show up to work and deal with the public. Which is no easy feat these days.