Not so common

The previous post was a camera phone snap from the bathroom of a local fast food restaurant. I very much enjoyed the first line. Because, really, neither state law nor obnoxious signage should have to remind employees of food establishments that they should be washing up after using the restroom.

Then again, one should not have to remind grown women in a large office of this, either, but I digress.

What the hell happened to common decency?

It used to be that people were courteous to each other. You said please and thank you and were polite and conscientious of the feelings of others.

Now there's this attitude of entitlement that everyone has. Everything is about me, and, therefore, I don't have to be courteous to you.

As an example, SweetPea and I were in WalMart on Friday night. Yes, Black Friday. It was close on 11pm when we ventured out there, and it was still quite busy. SweetPea exited an aisle to find herself about to walk directly into a store employee. SweetPea stopped abruptly and, because she was raised right, said "excuse me".

The store employee didn't even blink. No thank you, no "excuse me", nothing. No response whatsoever.

What's up with that?

Is it really so hard to even acknowledge someone who was attempting to be polite to you? Really?

While this is only one incident, it's symptomatic of the issue. It seems like everyone is so wrapped up in their own issues, they can't even take the time for the simplest of courtesies. And while that's one thing for the average person out in the world, I believe that it's inexcusable for employees of stores who work in positions where they deal directly with public. These are precisely the individuals who should be polite, courteous, and accommodating.

Maybe this is WalMart's bigger issue? Maybe people have finally started deciding that they're willing to pay a little bit more to be served by employees who don't treat customers like they're a nuisance.