Since when did being an obnoxious twerp become a requirement for being a receptionist? I mean any kind of receptionist, be it at a doctor's office, in a hotel, or working at a customer service desk in a store.

Silly me, I thought it was part of the job to be helpful to people and try to keep them coming back to your establishment. Apparently, I am very wrong about that. Apparently, the job of a customer service person is to play Angry Birds on her iPhone (with the sound on) and ignore me for five minutes while I'm standing there, waiting to be checked in. Apparently, her job is also to look annoyed every time she has to do anything at all that doesn't involve her phone, and to tell me, "I don't know how to do that" and stare at me blankly until I give up.

I guess I'm not doing my job very well at all, then, because I would never do that to a customer.

This situation was especially annoying because over the weekend, we experienced another case of horrible customer service and were talking about how the customer service is on a cruise, and discussing the possible reasons why it's so much better. Our experience has been that the customer service on a cruise is way better than the service in everyday situations because people seem to actually WANT to be helpful. They don't treat the job like every moment of it is excruciatingly painful and is killing their soul. They seem to be pleased with their job choice.

Imagine that. Not being mad that one has to help out other people because one is being paid to do so.

Maybe it's because there are schools in other countries that teach the hospitality trade, and many of the people working on cruise ships are not from America, or maybe it's just a difference in culture; I don't know. I just think it's really sad when helping another person out is that painful. We all have days where the last thing we want to do is go to work and actually be friendly, but part of having a job is the act we put on when we clock in: Acting like we don't really want to be wearing sweat pants and sitting on our couches, eating Doritos and watching game shows all day. Acting like we actually give a crap and want to make sure the customers we're assisting get what they need to get.

It almost seems like this woman felt as though she was the only person in the world who ever had to do something she didn't want to do. Come on. Who loves their job every minute of every day? I sure don't, but I try to pretend, at least most of the time. I can honestly say that never in my life have I treated a customer the way I've been treated lately. I'm kind of sick of it. I realize that I'm not perfect, and I make mistakes just like everyone else, but the difference is that because I'm being paid money for performing a certain set of tasks, I'm going to do my best at it, regardless of how tired or bored or irritable I am. When I'm the one paying the money I want the service, which, in my opinion, should include looking pretty darn happy for having any job at all and receiving a paycheck for it.

What can we do about this? Honestly? Not much. I'm not in a position to fire these people, even though I totally would if I was their boss, so I just complain, frequently, to the corporate office. I figure if enough people speak up, maybe these people's bosses will take notice and do something about it. Maybe if people feel the threat of being out of work in today's job climate, they'll try a little bit harder. Maybe I'll wait for Ms. Angry Birds in the parking lot and steal her hooker boots and make her apologize for her attitude before I'll give them back. That seems like the responsible, adult thing to do.

Or maybe I'm just cranky because I'd rather be at home in my chair with my trusty Doritos. That's probably it.