How many can tolerate dealing with the public?

[bekilrwale]

My job is to man a gate at a baseball complex and collect the entry fee from people who come for the game. While some people are courteous and even like to have a friendly chat, a majority of the people I find to be ignorant and aggressive. Most people complain that they have to pay to enter and some outright refuse to pay, demanding to see my manager. I tell these people that expenses for this tournament range in the tens of thousands of dollars but that doesn't seem to justify the $5 entry fee in their minds. This job has shown me that a majority of the random people I will converse with outside my friends and family are belligerent and offensive, so in general I dislike the public.

[Vanyali]

Working in retail makes you realize one thing:

"the public" is very, very stupid.

for instance:

I answer the phone with the standard "thank you for calling [location] [store]". The first thing 90% of callers ask is "what location am i calling?". When you tell them, they're shocked and ask "this isn't [other location]?", ask for the number, but then ask you to TRANSFER them. To another store, from your store, when they asked for the number.

People that don't know what underwear looks like. Guys come up to me constantly to ask what the difference between boxers, boxer briefs, and briefs are. I'm female. They're usually 30+ guys asking me this. It's not just guys, though. Girls don't know the difference between various cuts. And NO ONE knows what size underwear they wear.

Getting asked "is this the normal price"? When you inform them that yes, this is the normal price, there's a high chance you'll get asked if it'll be a higher price tomorrow or the next day.

Again, the phone. Should someone from another area not pick up YOU will be screamed at for not answering their question. You will be screamed at if a manager does not answer the phone. You will be yelled at if they called another store and didn't get the answer they wanted. You will be yelled at if you tell them something is closed. You will be yelled at for not knowing if another department has a product on the shelf, how much it is, and what colors it comes in. In short, anything that goes on in a store is your fault, despite the fact that you are simply a person that answers a phone.

Should someone leave a purse/ kid/ wallet/ phone behind, it's your fault for not telling them. Should they lose it, it's your fault for not protecting it. Should you find it, they will not come for it until much later, at which point you've tampered with it for sure.

And lastly, you are expected to be an expert on other stores and every product ever made, even if you don't sell it or even know about it.

[Baratheon]

My job is to man a gate at a baseball complex and collect the entry fee from people who come for the game. While some people are courteous and even like to have a friendly chat, a majority of the people I find to be ignorant and aggressive. Most people complain that they have to pay to enter and some outright refuse to pay, demanding to see my manager. I tell these people that expenses for this tournament range in the tens of thousands of dollars but that doesn't seem to justify the $5 entry fee in their minds. This job has shown me that a majority of the random people I will converse with outside my friends and family are belligerent and offensive, so in general I dislike the public.

I work for a local utility company as a call center rep and I have to listen to people bitch and complain because their power got turned off or their check got returned, so we assess a fee or a deposit. So, I'm apparently the bad guy because of their own mistakes that they can't take responsibility for. Just because people are upset with their own situation doesn't give them the right to act belligerent and aggressive towards a random person.

[Tziva]

I can "tolerate" the public in any context, albeit I'd prefer it in small quantities.

[mic129]

i am not a big fan of face to face public but i deal with it, because if you dont, you will end up having no friends XD

[Rampant Rabbit]

"the public" in generaly are ignorant and ill informed. Individuals are generally fine, but collectively its pretty depressing.

You're ignorant and ill informed. Right back at you.

Can't believe you'd be able to say something as stupid as that.

[Adam Jensen]

I've done customer service, I can tolerate the public.

Though there are times when I wish I was a Dovahkiin and I could just FUS ROH DAH whatever jackass is in my face.

[Khaidu]

If I am around too many people (like sitting in a shopping mall on a saturday) for more than an hr I actually get mentally and physically exhausted, I have to go home and rest for a week from it. Being in public wears me out, I just hate being around so many people at once. I am fine walking to work around people as it is usually only 8 or so ppl i pass to get to work, but even sitting on the train to work is exhausting, the fortunate thing is everyone is usually quiet on the train so I can deal with it better. I avoid going to public stuff like fundraisers and parties as they wear me out a lot and I just do not enjoy the interaction.

When I worked at Woolworths (grocery store) I was constantly stressed, depressed and really drained from the people I had to interact with, thankfully at my current job I only deal with customers over the phone and that is probably only 2-5 calls a day and is to obtain info so I do not need to worry about it as much.

I just hate dealing with the number of idiots out there, and the ignorance and lack of common sense is astonoshing. The way 6 year olds dress leaves me with a headache and feeling uncomfortable for just looking at them (They are dressing like hookers here mini skirts/shorts etc) and the obesity numbers and centrelink baby boomers frustrate me to no end..I guess I just hate that we are overpopulating the world and cannot deal with the general population because of it.

[Deleted]

I love the public. I'm the kind of guy that ALOT of you guys would think "Weirdo" about, because I try to always display myself as a happy, smiling person in public. Old ladies or elderly gentlemen usually smile back, even nod politely, but most people of my own age just look at me funny.

A few things it's made me notice is that generally, women with children and elderly people are more inclined to smile back and be polite than younger folks. But who can blame them? In this day and age, imagine a rather short fellow (5'7) walking towards you wearing a green, worn coat, often a black hat and beard just smiling at you. I'm sure some of you would smile back of politeness or reflex, but be honest. How many would'nt atleast consider "Why the hell did he smile at me?" or "Did he just smile at me?" or something along those lines.

Fortunately, I rarely get any verbal abuse from it, and I like to think I may even occasionally brighten someones day up a bit. I've experienced everything ranging from a relatively young (14-16) girl stopping, turning around, asking after me "Did you just smile at me?" in a kinda polite way, making me turn and nods, smiling again in which she just smiled again, turned and kept walking a bit shyly which made me laugh softly, to a big, burly guy, shouting to me "What the hell are you smiling at, freak?" to which I responded "You" and kept walking. Fortunately he did'nt seem inclined to do any real physical abuse.

But yeah.. Oh! And this one time, this really elderly man was sitting on a bench, wearing a grey hat. I was just strolling down the street in no particular rush, smiled at him to which he laughed, took off his hat and inclined his head respectfully. I could'nt help grin, stopped and did the same kind gesture back to which he burst out laughing and I did the same. Then I simply walked on. Not a word was said, but it felt really good.

All in all, it's about how you conduct yourself. Admittedly, my Girlfriend occasionally becomes embarrased about me, but she's also told me she likes it. Makes me who I am and she loves who I am so.. Everyone wins! Even if she blushes now and then xD

Edit:

Oh, and all in all, best advice I could offer is; Don't be shy. Everybody judges you no matter WHAT you wear or HOW you look. Just accept that fact and deal with it by behaving exactly how you want to. I like to smile, so that's how I deal with it. Makes everything seem so much easier =D

[Lightwysh]

I work in a call center type job, I deal with on average 60 random people a day. I can honestly say for the last 2 years I went from dealing with about 10% of the people being utter fucktards, to now about 70%. Peoples sense of self entitlement is astounding and if I had Jedi mind powers I would choke the shit out of so many people.

[upirlikhyi]

it takes a ton of pills to get me to tolerate the public

[Kasierith]

I deal with the public every single work day, in an area that the public know next to nothing about and in a position where I constantly speak face to face with many different people. I have had everything from kind old ladies to angry guys throwing bags of meds back in my face... so I would say I'm extremely tolerant.

[Blockygame]

I have no problem dealing with the general public, though there is the odd occasion where I feel like putting fist to mouth with some of the drop kicks I get to deal with every now and then, if only they knew..... oh wait.

[Livic]

My dad once told me 80% of people are idiots.

[tcfoo]

I love the public. I'm the kind of guy that ALOT of you guys would think "Weirdo" about, because I try to always display myself as a happy, smiling person in public. Old ladies or elderly gentlemen usually smile back, even nod politely, but most people of my own age just look at me funny.

A few things it's made me notice is that generally, women with children and elderly people are more inclined to smile back and be polite than younger folks. But who can blame them? In this day and age, imagine a rather short fellow (5'7) walking towards you wearing a green, worn coat, often a black hat and beard just smiling at you. I'm sure some of you would smile back of politeness or reflex, but be honest. How many would'nt atleast consider "Why the hell did he smile at me?" or "Did he just smile at me?" or something along those lines.

Fortunately, I rarely get any verbal abuse from it, and I like to think I may even occasionally brighten someones day up a bit. I've experienced everything ranging from a relatively young (14-16) girl stopping, turning around, asking after me "Did you just smile at me?" in a kinda polite way, making me turn and nods, smiling again in which she just smiled again, turned and kept walking a bit shyly which made me laugh softly, to a big, burly guy, shouting to me "What the hell are you smiling at, freak?" to which I responded "You" and kept walking. Fortunately he did'nt seem inclined to do any real physical abuse.

But yeah.. Oh! And this one time, this really elderly man was sitting on a bench, wearing a grey hat. I was just strolling down the street in no particular rush, smiled at him to which he laughed, took off his hat and inclined his head respectfully. I could'nt help grin, stopped and did the same kind gesture back to which he burst out laughing and I did the same. Then I simply walked on. Not a word was said, but it felt really good.

All in all, it's about how you conduct yourself. Admittedly, my Girlfriend occasionally becomes embarrased about me, but she's also told me she likes it. Makes me who I am and she loves who I am so.. Everyone wins! Even if she blushes now and then xD

Edit:

Oh, and all in all, best advice I could offer is; Don't be shy. Everybody judges you no matter WHAT you wear or HOW you look. Just accept that fact and deal with it by behaving exactly how you want to. I like to smile, so that's how I deal with it. Makes everything seem so much easier =D

You are my kinda bro. A friendly smile is always welcome and offered.

I can definitely tolerate dealing with the public. Even some of the most miserable cusses out there can quickly change their tune with a little unexpected kindness. If you can disarm, relax and relate, you will go a long way to leading a simply happy life. It works for me in my line of business, with my emotional pre-teen daughters and with my tightly wound, quick to anger wife...Though my wife is the toughest one, she knows most of my tricks

Elderly, kids, adults, adolescents, whatever; I guess I'm just a people person. heck, I'm smiling now while I'm typing this.

[BlueGender]

Lawl

What about the poll option: Does not interact with the public...?

[Razeo]

I love the public. I'm the kind of guy that ALOT of you guys would think "Weirdo" about, because I try to always display myself as a happy, smiling person in public. Old ladies or elderly gentlemen usually smile back, even nod politely, but most people of my own age just look at me funny.

A few things it's made me notice is that generally, women with children and elderly people are more inclined to smile back and be polite than younger folks. But who can blame them? In this day and age, imagine a rather short fellow (5'7) walking towards you wearing a green, worn coat, often a black hat and beard just smiling at you. I'm sure some of you would smile back of politeness or reflex, but be honest. How many would'nt atleast consider "Why the hell did he smile at me?" or "Did he just smile at me?" or something along those lines.

Fortunately, I rarely get any verbal abuse from it, and I like to think I may even occasionally brighten someones day up a bit. I've experienced everything ranging from a relatively young (14-16) girl stopping, turning around, asking after me "Did you just smile at me?" in a kinda polite way, making me turn and nods, smiling again in which she just smiled again, turned and kept walking a bit shyly which made me laugh softly, to a big, burly guy, shouting to me "What the hell are you smiling at, freak?" to which I responded "You" and kept walking. Fortunately he did'nt seem inclined to do any real physical abuse.

But yeah.. Oh! And this one time, this really elderly man was sitting on a bench, wearing a grey hat. I was just strolling down the street in no particular rush, smiled at him to which he laughed, took off his hat and inclined his head respectfully. I could'nt help grin, stopped and did the same kind gesture back to which he burst out laughing and I did the same. Then I simply walked on. Not a word was said, but it felt really good.

All in all, it's about how you conduct yourself. Admittedly, my Girlfriend occasionally becomes embarrased about me, but she's also told me she likes it. Makes me who I am and she loves who I am so.. Everyone wins! Even if she blushes now and then xD

Edit:

Oh, and all in all, best advice I could offer is; Don't be shy. Everybody judges you no matter WHAT you wear or HOW you look. Just accept that fact and deal with it by behaving exactly how you want to. I like to smile, so that's how I deal with it. Makes everything seem so much easier =D

Are we long lost bros? Because I have this same outlook whenever I go out

[ishootblanks]

when your paycheck depends on it.. you learn to tolerate the public..

[Remilia]

Sure I can 'tolerate' it... but I'd rather not... only through internet really...

In real life, I could, but it's all an act really and I rather just get out of there asap.

[Deleted]

I am fine with people....but on buses..or any transport I feel like I could murder everyone.