What the hell is wrong with people?

I know I have mentioned this before, but where the hell has customer service gone?

I was raised in a household by a single mom, a single mom who was a flight attendant and had to deal with the public all day. Who had to deal with people trying to grope her, people blaming her for what was out of her control, people handing her poopie diapers and demanding she do something with it. And she took it all and smiled.

I then went to work at many a restaurant on and off (mostly on) for the better part of seven years. I worked with the attitude that the customer is ALWAYS right because you know what? They almost always are. Even when they are a pain in the ass, your livelihood depends on your customers. Is it fun to deal with customers who are zits on the butt of humanity? No, it's not, but often when you work with the public in any capacity, it's your job. Also, dealing with these fools makes you a better customer. And people today that are business owners could care less. Maybe it's because there is a lot of competition and they are just hedging their bets that they are going to lose some customers no matter what. But, when it is consistently bad behavior, it's not the customer's fault, it's the owner's.

Perfect example. Today, I call at 11:45 to make an appointment to get Mimi's hair cut. Okay, bring her in at 1:00, they have room. I'm doing them a favor in some respects, because I am sure the only reason they have this appointment is that someone else cancelled. This is a salon that I take the kids to for haircuts, and I use for my waxing needs. Last week, prior to the wedding, they screwed up my appointment. I know it wasn't my fault because I had to call (well in advance of 24 hours of the appointment) and changed it from Thursday to Saturday. Apparently, the desk help was unable to comprehend that Saturday was two days after Thursday, but she must have thought so a little because she didn't give me the date of the following Saturday. I get there, and they say, oh no it's next Saturday. I say, okay, I will come back during the week. At no point do they apologize for screwing me up nor do they try to fit me in. Additionally, I am giving the salon more business that same day because my dad is in town and wants a haircut. I let go of the fact that they don't apologize and move on. Until today.

Because when I called back at 12:00 to cancel Mimi's appointment (15 minutes after I have made the appointment) because she is obviously very tired from school and won't be a very good client at the salon, this is how the conversation goes:

Me: "I need to cancel my daughter's hair appointment that I just made."

Them: "Name?"

Me: "Mimi blah blah blah"

Them: "Okay, the next time you make an appointment we need at least 24-hours cancellation notice."

Me: "Since I just made this appointment 15 minutes ago, which I just mentioned to you by the way, I didn't have 24 hours and by the way, since you screwed up my last appointment you might want to check your attitude."

And then I did something I haven't done in at least 15 years, I hung up on "them." I am not proud of this. But, I think I get a pass on this one. And why?

****I'ved edited this part because I needed to for now*****

More later . . .