The customer is NOT always right

 Years ago, in the early 1980's, I worked in a local toy store. It was the time of the new, smaller-sized G.I. Joes (the same ones you see in stores now), the original MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE and MY LITTLE PONY, the original line of TRANSFORMERS (where Megatron would turn into a GUN, of all things!), plus the start of the influx of the STAR WARS stuff. A glorious toy time, indeed.

  .....Until one day.........

   The Coleco company put out a doll.  A doll still around now, in fact. It was chubby, with yarn-like hair, and came in both boy and girl styles. It was unusual, as it had not only a first and middle name (different for each doll), but also had a 'birth certificate' as well. It was, of course, the Cabbage Patch Doll.
    Now, when these things first came in, they sold okay; people thought that they were quaint, but many didn't want to spend the money on something their kid might tear apart easily. Then, around the holidays, it changed. It seemed (to us working at the store, anyway) that Coleco had ramped up the advertising, and pulled back on production/shipping, to make them somewhat scarce in the stores. That seemed to jump-start the buying frenzy, as now all of a sudden, they were the MUST HAVES!!!! of the season. Women would actually get in to arguments and shoving matches in stores for these abominations. Don't believe me? Search for anything related to Cabbage Patch Kids and Frenzy together and see what you get. trust me, I've been in the Cabbage Patch trenches, and it wasn't pretty.

   So, you may ask, what's with the headline? Simple. Anyone who works/worked in retail will tell you: generally, people suck. Not *YOU*, of course. You're great. I'm referring to the dolts who go to a store and think that the staff is there JUST for THEM, and will serve them accordingly with no regard for anyone else. Who, when things are not going their way, seem to think that it's a great idea to scream, yell, accuse, berate, threaten, or just be generally crappy to staff. In some cases, they even think it's their right to hit people, just because "The customer is always right!" In fact, according to Wikipedia,
' "The customer is always right" is a motto or slogan which exhorts service staff to give a high priority to customer satisfaction. ' It is NOT a law, it's a business maxim. It was a thing businesses followed to get people in their place of business, and not shop the competition: Treat them well, and they'll be loyal to you.
   However, it's evolved into something of a threat: "Give me what I want, or else!" Or else, what? "I'll shop elsewhere! Maybe even online!" Then do it. I know the reason you've gone into a store is to try and get something cheaper than online. Plus, delivery still takes time, so you'd rather cause a scene to get it now than to wait. It's not the staff's fault that you're too stupid to realize that if you're actually *nice* to them, they'll be more willing to help you get your stuff as soon as possible. If they don't have it in stock, it's not their fault; blame the manufacturer or the warehouse for not shipping it, not the store for being out of stock. Trust me, stores WANT things in stock, so that they can sell them. They don't short their shelves just to annoy *you*. You aren't that important. 

  So, be nice to staff, because they're people too. Plus, they have to deal with the Dumb on a daily basis. Give them a break, and they might give you one, too.