The Consumer Culture

I hate consumers. Customers I don't mind. We're all customers. Consumers are a whole different ball game.

We all know consumers, you might even be one yourself. Consumers seem to believe that because they are paying for a service or product they deserve to be treated as Gods, and get pissed off when they don't in such a major way that I sometimes worry that they might suffer some form of heart failure. Their expectations can sometimes be completely unreasonable.

For example. They'll ask for a standard next day delivery (and yes there is a priority option on my company's website) then moan when the goods get to them late afternoon THE NEXT DAY. What is that all about? No one suggested the goods would get there early, it says next day by 5pm. If it was just one or two people I'd just put it down to them being arseholes. But everyone seems to be at it.

Everywhere I go I see consumers who WANT WANT WANT and there's no arguing with them. They seem to forget that the faceless companies they moan at for no valid reason contain numerous fellow human beings who are just trying to make ends meet. I cannot stand the attitude people take with those who serve them, they treat them like slaves without any respect. They shout at them, berate them, make fun of them, make unreasonable demands of them and generally act like 5 year old prima donnas.

Now I know a lot of you are reading this and going "Yes well I've been treated badly by service personnel." I'm sure you have. But statistically what do you think is the more frequent scenario. The customer being an arse or the "servant". I don't often see shoddy service in shops for instance (I mean it'd take a lot to get the checkout procedure wrong) but I see bad customer attitude EVERY day.

Am I the only person who thinks about others when in a shop/cafe environment? I smile at and thank everyone who helps me. I ask polite questions if necessary. I make sure I always have my money ready when I get to the till rather than hold up the queue by hunting around for my money only when asked for it (as if the concept of handing over money in a commercial building is a novel concept). I avoid bothering members of staff unless absolutely necessary (I will always take the automated option rather than inconvenience someone else). It's just polite.

So next time I hear someone being sarcastic to a member of staff for no reason, or belittling someone maliciously, I'm going to get involved. All 6'9" of me. I cannot stand back and let people treat others in any other way than is proper. What right do I have? The right to live in a country without the scum that seems to permeate our lives with their selfish attitudes, their thoughtlessness and their ability to hold up the queue I'm in by starting an argument.