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I had similar thinking about how alien that would be in a previous discussion around service culture in the US vs. Germany. In the US, it is expected that empl

I had similar thinking about how alien that would be in a previous discussion around service culture in the US vs. Germany. In the US, it is expected that employees in service businesses (think coffee shops, grocery stores, etc.) put on a smiling face and pretend to love their jobs. In Germany, I was told that is unheard of because it is thought of as inhumane to force someone to pretend they love their job like that. So as a result you get some less-than-enthusiastic responses from those employees. I encountered this a bit in a coffee shop in Vienna and it was stark to say the least.

branchless 9y ago
Agreed. A friend mocked British service standards the other day and I said that this showed people hadn't completely given up. It's a form of resistance.
- sjclemmy 9y ago
  I have oft said that the people who give me dour customer service (which is a lot) have been to the Huddersfield School of Customer Service. Disclaimer: I live in Huddersfield and it is sometimes grim up north.
jancsika 9y ago
If I had to work a shit job like grocery store clerk, I'd much prefer an ineffectual dolt of a boss telling me to smile than I would a German realist boss telling me a smile isn't a requirement of my employment.
- threatofrain 9y ago
  Or you'll have an American realist Walmart boss telling you to "cheer" up. I see it as unvalued emotional labor, and degrading to those who do it as they are non-negotiably expected to do it. Some people are into this, and some aren't -- but if you are poor and working retail, then you must smile and sometimes sing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOkQJm_UGM4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOkQJm_UGM4
  - mrkrabo 9y ago
    Haha, that video is pathetic. https://youtu.be/Z8zNsUTWsOc https://youtu.be/Z8zNsUTWsOc
  - smsm42 9y ago
    I have hard time to see how being nice to people is "degrading". Is it somehow assumed that only assholes are real decent people and anyone who is nice to the clients is automatically degrading themselves? Yes, I get it - working as a clerk in a store like Walmart is not the most luxurious job in the world. But I, as a client, is not at fault that the clerk is not a billionaire hedge fund manager (neither am I btw). On the contrary, the money that I bring in are partially paying his - admittedly, far from luxurious, but still nonzero - salary. He is not forced to work this job, he could leave at any moment (he'd have to give up the salary of course). So is it really too much to expect some nice disposition towards customers which pay your living? I really don't understand how it's unreasonable and "degrading" to expect that. Singing maybe going too far (OTOH, the video looks like a dreaded "teambuilding exercise", that's the whole other story), but a nice smile?
    - deleted 9y ago
      [deleted]
    - carapace 9y ago
      Being nice to people isn't degrading (in fact, it's uplifting.) Being required to pretend to be nice or else is degrading.
      - threatofrain 9y ago
        Also, you can be nice to people without pretending to feel happy all the time, such as by smiling or singing. Being nice could mean efficiently executing their duties. I'm not sure why talking about emotional labor, smiling and singing, suddenly brought on doubts about decency, niceness, and assholeness in the following reply. I see that as very stressful expectations to have for somebody. Smiling is a communication of internal feelings. It puts pressure on me as the customer as well when I know my mere presence is an on-button for an emotional act for people. How draining for both parties.

branchless 9y ago

Agreed. A friend mocked British service standards the other day and I said that this showed people hadn't completely given up. It's a form of resistance.

sjclemmy 9y ago
I have oft said that the people who give me dour customer service (which is a lot) have been to the Huddersfield School of Customer Service. Disclaimer: I live in Huddersfield and it is sometimes grim up north.

jancsika 9y ago

If I had to work a shit job like grocery store clerk, I'd much prefer an ineffectual dolt of a boss telling me to smile than I would a German realist boss telling me a smile isn't a requirement of my employment.

threatofrain 9y ago
Or you'll have an American realist Walmart boss telling you to "cheer" up. I see it as unvalued emotional labor, and degrading to those who do it as they are non-negotiably expected to do it. Some people are into this, and some aren't -- but if you are poor and working retail, then you must smile and sometimes sing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOkQJm_UGM4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOkQJm_UGM4
- mrkrabo 9y ago
  Haha, that video is pathetic. https://youtu.be/Z8zNsUTWsOc https://youtu.be/Z8zNsUTWsOc
- smsm42 9y ago
  I have hard time to see how being nice to people is "degrading". Is it somehow assumed that only assholes are real decent people and anyone who is nice to the clients is automatically degrading themselves? Yes, I get it - working as a clerk in a store like Walmart is not the most luxurious job in the world. But I, as a client, is not at fault that the clerk is not a billionaire hedge fund manager (neither am I btw). On the contrary, the money that I bring in are partially paying his - admittedly, far from luxurious, but still nonzero - salary. He is not forced to work this job, he could leave at any moment (he'd have to give up the salary of course). So is it really too much to expect some nice disposition towards customers which pay your living? I really don't understand how it's unreasonable and "degrading" to expect that. Singing maybe going too far (OTOH, the video looks like a dreaded "teambuilding exercise", that's the whole other story), but a nice smile?
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - carapace 9y ago
    Being nice to people isn't degrading (in fact, it's uplifting.) Being required to pretend to be nice or else is degrading.
    - threatofrain 9y ago
      Also, you can be nice to people without pretending to feel happy all the time, such as by smiling or singing. Being nice could mean efficiently executing their duties. I'm not sure why talking about emotional labor, smiling and singing, suddenly brought on doubts about decency, niceness, and assholeness in the following reply. I see that as very stressful expectations to have for somebody. Smiling is a communication of internal feelings. It puts pressure on me as the customer as well when I know my mere presence is an on-button for an emotional act for people. How draining for both parties.