In today's Tribune (I couldn't find it on the online edition, but you can find it here), on the back of the sports page, is an article about the generational differences between the "baby boomers" and the "millennials", those that are in their teens and twenties. It seems the millennials don't have very good manners when it comes to customer service and the boomers are getting ticked off, as well as we should be.
Instead of blaming culture and technology for behavior that is nothing short of rudeness, these kids who are working in customer service or any other field for that matter, need to be trained. Having good manners is a learned behavior. We don't just pop out of the womb knowing how to be socially competent. And if these kids are not learning good manners at home, then its up to their teachers and employers, but that means they have to have manners themselves, which may or may not be the case.
"There's a tremendous culture and value gap" said William Withers, a communications professor at Wartburg College in Iowa. So his response to all of this: Boomers need to adjust their expectations down. That's right. We boomers are expecting too much to think that we should be waited on without the service person text messaging their friends, talking on their cell phones or just plain not paying attention to us. And if we're not willing to do this? Be prepared to "pay more to shop and dine at establishments that have the time, interest and money to train their employees".
We're in more trouble than we think.
Instead of blaming culture and technology for behavior that is nothing short of rudeness, these kids who are working in customer service or any other field for that matter, need to be trained. Having good manners is a learned behavior. We don't just pop out of the womb knowing how to be socially competent. And if these kids are not learning good manners at home, then its up to their teachers and employers, but that means they have to have manners themselves, which may or may not be the case.
"There's a tremendous culture and value gap" said William Withers, a communications professor at Wartburg College in Iowa. So his response to all of this: Boomers need to adjust their expectations down. That's right. We boomers are expecting too much to think that we should be waited on without the service person text messaging their friends, talking on their cell phones or just plain not paying attention to us. And if we're not willing to do this? Be prepared to "pay more to shop and dine at establishments that have the time, interest and money to train their employees".
We're in more trouble than we think.
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