"Mister Smart Aleck!" Who is at fault here? (long)

[ShinyGreenApple]

A somewhat run-down little Winn Dixie in the pit of hell Florida.

And judging by the amount of repeated call-ins from the same people, I imagine we're hiring

[Horsetuna]

I Think what Shorty did was the right thing, personally, and I find it amusing, if I would have been annoyed at having to put away all his groceries.

Me, I would've gone to 'yes sir' right after the first non-laughing response.

As for those who say 'suck it up'... I sucked it up for over ten years, and it got to the point where I would lie and call in sick because I was terrified of my own boss. I came here and got told to 'suck it up, some have it worse'... and well, there was a big argument. Sorry, some people CANT suck it up.

I'm getting a thicker skin, but its' neither painless nor easy to do. At a job I had a few summers ago (some may remember it), I was hiding in the deep freeze nightly bawling my eyes out because of my supervisor. He was age-discriminatory/sexist and a real horrible man. Should I have sucked it up? No. I dont think so. I really should have reported him for harassment but I was too terrified because my entire life I was always 'yes sir, no sir' and never even tried to stand up for myself.

So I applaud Shorty, and I am glad his manager stuck up for him (I imagine Shorty would not be so 'joking' with the customers if he knew Management wouldnt' back him up too, right?)

[Ree]

I came here and got told to 'suck it up, some have it worse'... and well, there was a big argument.

That's an incident that should stay in the past, thank you very much.
For the record, you were never told to suck it up. That was a paraphrase that you chose to put to a comment made by another member who was not as understanding of your problem as you would have liked.
It was not a nice situation, and while it is a painful memory for you, it involves another member of this board, who, although not extremely active, is still a member, and dredging it back up now borders on a personal attack.

[XCashier]

A somewhat run-down little Winn Dixie in the pit of hell Florida.

And judging by the amount of repeated call-ins from the same people, I imagine we're hiring

Have to pass on that, I rather like Oregon too much to move to Florida. Not even for a really good boss.

[Primer]

Seeing as how it's nobody else's business, I think Shorty should have stuck to his guns and insisted he really was 25. It's not like he would have had to prove it to the AC.

[Sofar]

I was telling the customers to suck it up, rather. I'm tired of people who think they deserve respect, I'm tried of people who consider themselves unsassable, and we've been being told not to talk back all throughout our childhoods, now that we're adults with jobs and cars and all the trimmings I think we get to talk back. My customers should remember that I'm the one feeding them. If they want food they must bear my sass. If they don't like it then they don't get food. Consider me the goddamn burger fascist.

Damn it, I wanna go back to NYC. In NYC no one cares whether you're nice or not. In NYC things get done and no one quivers because you used the wrong tone of voice. In NYC it's like, the kitchen. In the kitchen we don't politely ask one another to drop the hash, we damn well bark orders at each other.

[Ree]

I was telling the customers to suck it up, rather. I'm tired of people who think they deserve respect

Ummm...it's a two-way street.
You're tired of customers demanding respect and even expecting it, yet you want to be treated with respect by them.

Ya get what ya give!!

Pretty hard to demand it from others but not wish to give it, yourself.

[Sofar]

Pretty hard to demand it from others but not wish to give it, yourself.

What did I just goddamn say? I'm not a freaking pussy that curls up into a ball in the corner whenever someone begins a terse conversation with me. I don't need this weird west-coast version of "respect" to live my goddamn life, and I'm tired of people expecting me to walk on eggshells around them.

[myswtghst]

What if he HAD been 25? Mr. Asshole didn't know he wasn't, so the first time he asked was rude and out of line and the second time he asked was above and beyond rude.

My thoughts exactly. He had no business asking, and he had no way of knowing that 25 was not the truth, so he had no right to question that. What a jerk.

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

My customers should remember that I'm the one feeding them. If they want food they must bear my sass. If they don't like it then they don't get food. Consider me the goddamn burger fascist.

Where's your burger joint, so I can never go there?

I sincerely hope you are not saying that if I choose to patronize your restaurant, you get to treat me however you wish.

[Ree]

What did I just goddamn say?

There was no need to swear at me, thank you very much.
You can take pride in being a disrespectful jerk all you want in real life, but on this board, we don't swear at each other.

[Jester]

When in doubt, is the number one rule!!

Wait a minute. I thought that the number one rule was to not eat or drink while reading these boards? Especially Gravekeeper's posts!

My customers should remember that I'm the one feeding them. If they want food they must bear my sass.

That's fine, and that is how you choose to act. However, you need to remember that there can be consequences for acting like that, whether its you at your job or someone else following your lead at their job. Two very obvious potential consequences for such behavior CAN be that 1. the establishment loses business from people who don't want to deal with the sass and 2. a sassy employee can be fired by management who doesn't like having sassy employees, for whatever reason.

While you may not have to deal with either of these, a lot of other people DO. I myself once almost lost a good job when a customer didn't get a joke of mine and complained. Luckily for me I already had a fantastic reputation at that job, and I explained to management exactly what had happened (which was NOT what the complaining customer had said). In that situation, as in the OP, the customer just did not get the joke.

These things happen, and that is the reality of life. While you and I can get away with mouthing off to a degree to our customers, not everyone can. Even I, the self-declared Lord High Emperor of Smartasses will occasionally reign it in and pe Mr. Polite when I see a customer has all the sense of humor of a senile door knob. The trick is knowing when to do what.

Damn it, I wanna go back to NYC. In NYC no one cares whether you're nice or not. In NYC things get done and no one quivers because you used the wrong tone of voice. In NYC it's like, the kitchen. In the kitchen we don't politely ask one another to drop the hash, we damn well bark orders at each other.

I have heard complaints like this before. People want to go back to some place else, or they don't like it in Key West/Phoenix/wherever I am hearing said comment. My response? Go the f**k back. Seriously. I am not being a smartass here either, nor trying to be rude. If you really don't like where you are, and in your mind it is inferior to some place else you would rather be, than by all means, stop being miserable in MY beloved town, get on the next bus/plane/wagon train out of Dodge, and go the home. Everyone will be happier for it.

This commentary are not directed at YOU per se, but simply toward people with that particular complaint. I hope you realize that, and don't take it as a personal attack, as it is not meant as such. But then, if you thought it WAS a personal attack, by your own admission, you shouldn't mind it, it being just a bit of sass.

Now, everyone smile and have a beer!