Why are so many employees at fast food restaurants and stores so rude to customers these days?
441169
Because they weren't raised right.  They hate the job and see no reason why they shouldn't display it for the world to see.
875483
Yeah.  I worked at 2 call centers.  One lasted about 6 months and the other about a month.  It wasn't so bad, i was 17 but you have to have a lot of patience and be able to "bite your tongue" when you get rude people.  It sucks but it's a paycheck.  The best kind is "inbound" calls... that's where people call you and you don't interrupt their dinner.  You still sell things... you just don't call them at their house.
88876
When I was working retail, I had a lot of run-of-the-mill rude customers, but the strangest one was definitely when I was working in a party store.  A woman came in with a fifty dollar gift certificate--from another store.  When she came to the counter to try to redeem it, I handed it back and said, "Ma'am, we're not Party Palace.  This is an FCO store."  She became upset (to put it mildly), wanted to know how I was so stupid that I didn't know the name of the store I worked at, thought that I was in league with the management to "defraud" her, was going to get me fired...after a while of listening to her yell, I told her if she didn't know the name of the store she was in she could walk outside and look at sign...I watched her from the window, and you should have seen the look on her face when she realized she was wrong!  She just drove off then, no apologies or anything.\n\nThe worst one I've witnessed was when a man reached over the counter, literally picked up one of my coworkers by the shirt collar, and shook him, because he said he was "being queer to him."  The poor boy was very effiminate acting, but that's not grounds for assualt.
974930
Mean and rude people.
247633
Yep, I quit my last job.  I worked in a furniture store, and for the most part it was okay.  But customers yelled at me for things I had no control over -- do they really think a cashier has control over the color of wood finish a bed has?  And my boss was a pain, she would yell at me for not going up to a customer and asking if they needed help every 20 seconds.  Excuse me for not wanting to harass people.  And worst was one of the assistant managers who was incredibly condescending.  So I quit and went back to school to get my masters.  Soon I'll own their asses.
383456
vedder, You may have not been in the store to hear some of the rude, disgusting comments some shoppers make to these young girls. I used to be a manager, and there were countless times they would be brought to tears by some overbearing butthead. You are correct that sometimes they may be rude, but please consider, there are two sides to every coin.
1135773
Good question.  I have a law degree, but due to my situation, I've had to work retail many times.  It's upsetting to be treated like that.  A lot of it may be that they don't think of anyone but themselves--that's how they got where they are, and they've forgotten that there are 6 billion other people in the world, most of whom are not as lucky as they are.
645021
stuck up and rude people
1005747
Yes and I have atleast a dozen or so more pet peeves. People are getting ruder, more selfish and sometimes downright mean. Few have manners. It makes me crazy.
717143
Well, the fast food industry grew out of a demand also.  Our lifestyle has become so fast paced that we barely have time to sit down and eat a proper meal let alone cook a proper meal!  Since they're catering to the public, they have to make the food taste good so that it will be bought and, unfortunately, what tastes good may not be what's healthy for us.
193764
All of the above has happened to me more than once; at restaurants I have complained to the managers and if they are just as bad as their staff, I inform them that I will be telling everyone that I know how bad they're place is and those people will tell they're friend and so on. I have left stores that ignore me, my hard earned money is better spent elsewhere. And if I feel like I am being followed I stop, turn and confront the person doing the following!
599075
I think it is because customer service oriented jobs are being performed by the couch potato generation.  They think they are doing us a favor by being there.  Labor laws protect the employee but not the employer.  It is hard to weed out the individuals that are lazy.  It's not like the days when somebody could be fired on the spot.  Now there is so much red tape to terminate somebody.  I feel your pain though.  I have a hard time having to bag my own groceries after putting in a ten hour day!  I voice my opinion by making a copy of my receipt and mailing it to the business owner or manager with my complaint.  This way; they know exactly who the individual was, what time and date the incident occurred, and what my issues were.  Most of the time I get a letter explaining that the problem is being addressed.  Sometimes, the individual puts two and two together and is much more pleasant to me the next time I pay the place of business a visit.
1185169
Oh I hate them too!!!!!!!! it ends up taking longer than it would with a real cashier,  inevitably something goes wrong and a cashier has to come over and help anyway... and  the people in back of you on line  get    angry much faster and the anger is  aimed at you since you are your own cashier lol... they do it to save money  - less employees, less money spent on wages,  and benefits... its a win-win for them...  and a frustrating experience for us !
512198
Because they are rude and have no manners.
790968
because throughout the day they work with so many people and they begin to get irritated of the people and dont realize that they are beggining to rush or be rude to the customers.
512619
Unfortunately they are not "acting" they really are rude... It is the society we live in.. as demand goes up and the population keeps increasing people have less time to be courteous to others...\n\nIt is a shame.. and something i am fighting.. I have worked in Sydney, Aus for 2 years now.. and although it is not as bad as NYC it is getting there... I have to fight the temptation to be rude to people sometimes because everyone is just rushing everywhere and are SO self absorbed....
794817
My first job was in fast food, and I too got tired of people complaining about the least little thing, but the worst is the lying they would do to get free stuff.\n\n20 years later, however, I am more tired of people in fast food places acting like they are doing you a favor to wait on you.  I'm sure you don't act like that, but many do.  It's like, "OMG I have to put down my cell phone and take an order?!  If it weren't for all these customers, I could have a good time here..."\n\nI think restaurants and store return desks should have automatic lie detectors!  If the customer gets caught lying to get some thing for free, they are banned from the store for the rest of their life!  That'll stop them!\n\nDon't let the jerks get you down!  There really are honest nice customers left!