The customer is always right?

We all know the old adage, "The customer is always right," but what happens when the customer turns it around on you?

It's probably been a whole year ago when I was working in our restaurant taking orders and making deliveries. A man came in wearing a Florida State shirt and I said "Go Noles!" and he said "ya right, you probably say that no matter what team."

I said, "No, I'm Alumni!"

"And you work in a place like this? So much for that degree," he replied.

I leaned over the counter and whispered, "I own this place."

I'll never forget that day. Not only was this customer rude to me, but he belittled the establishment that employs 12 people and supports my family.

Unfortunately, this isn't abnormal in our line of business. "The customer is always right" has actually come back to haunt us. What happened to common courtesy? What happened to mutual respect? I provide a product that people enjoy, so why do people look down upon us, or our team members, as if we're less-than-worthy?

Unfortunately, this is a symptom of a larger problem in our society. We often judge people by their cover, not their content. The guy I wrote about above basically assumed I was a loser with a degree because I worked "in a place like this".

What about my guys who take pride in their job and who work 70 hours a week to pay their bills? Why does society look down upon the blue-collar workers as if they could get along without them? Personally, I have a lot of respect for people with degrees working part-time delivering chicken wings. Talk about pride in life rather than fear of judgement. We could all take a cue from them.

We all have a story and that's what makes the world go 'round. Yes, I'm a proud college graduate slingin' protein for a living.