By Jessi Raechelle

re we really in that much of
a hurry that we can’t wait
a few extra seconds for the

cashier to call us over before we
march up to the till and expect an
immediate transaction? Were we not
taught as children to be patient or
courteous?

If you have ever worked in
the customer service industry, you
have experienced many scenarios
where people are to self-involved to
realize that there is another person
helping them with their transaction.
Whether it be ringing in groceries or
grabbing.a morning cup of coffee,
people are just in too much of a hurry
to be patient and practice common
courtesy.

A few weeks ago, I was standing
in the line at my local coffee shop. I
was next in line and just as eager as
everyone else is in the morning to
get my morning’s caffeine fix. The
lady in front of me finished ordering,
received her coffee and left the

line. The barista then turned around
to brew some more coffee. There
were other tills open so I patiently
waited to be greeted by the barista
before rushing over to the till. The
gentleman behind me pushed me
on the shoulder and said, “You had
better go over there or she will just
keep brewing coffee and won’t help
you.”

Now, I thought I was impatient,
but I couldn’t believe that this guy
was in such a rush that he needed to
shove me on the shoulder and tell me
to walk up to the counter. I told him I
would wait for her to call me over as
to not be rude. Well, the huffing and
puffing behind me told me that he
was not happy about my decision to
stay put. I couldn’t believe the extent
of this guy’s impatience.

People do this everywhere. It
doesn’t just happen in the line at the
coffee shop or at the grocery store. It
even happens at places that deal with
privacy and care. é

I work at a financial institution
and I understand that sometimes the

line ups at the bank can be long and
daunting; however, when you step
up to the teller uninvited, you’re
putting the last customers privacy
at risk — not to mention, you are
hardly speeding up the process. The
reality is you are probably slowing
down the process. Most likely, the
employee is finishing up with their
last customer and they are not just
going to stop what they are doing
because you decided they were
taking to long. It’s more likely that
the employee is actually going to
take their sweet time before they
help you just because you were not
patient enough to wait. I know I do.
When I haven’t welcomed the next
customer before they storm over to
my wicket, I ignore them until I have
completed what I am doing. I will
not rush through my last customer’s
transaction and risk making a mistake
just because someone else might

be late for an appointment. It is the
greatest pleasure when the person
who just barged over to my wicket
realizes that the teller next to me

(Aton

  

 

 

 

could have helped them sooner if
they had simply just waited.
Although the elderly seem to
be particularly courteous, there is a
definite lack of common courtesy
among the younger ages. And believe
it or not, it seems to be the worst
among the middle aged. Common
courtesy is lacking so much that it
takes me by surprise when a younger
person is incredibly polite. The
younger generations are learning by
example. How can we expect our
kids to be polite and courteous if we
do not display these same attributes?
Now I realize that everyone
does not do this and I thank those
who are patient and wait their turn.
More of today’s society needs to be
like this. However, for those who
think that they are the only one’s
who have been waiting in line for too
long or that they are the only person
who’s late for an appointment, take a
deep breath and wait until the teller,
cashier, or barista smiles at you and
says, “May I help who’s next?”

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