Wait staff and flight attendant c/o customers

Nurses Relations

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There are plenty of FB groups and communities dedicated to wait staff and airline staff, where they can vent about customers. Most of the time, I don't quite understand what they are so on about. For example, there is a meme about an airline passenger being unable to get into the bathroom with a pic of a flight attendant laughing. Huh?

I read these things, and my first thought is, "You ARE customer service--no doubt about it--so why are you complaining??" It's not like you've just finished up a rapid response on someone, and you are getting yelled at because you didn't bring fresh water to someone fast enough.

I just don't get it. Everyone is entitled to vent about demanding people in customer service, but my compassion meter is broken when someone in customer service is having a fit over a passenger or customer asking for a glass of water.

Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
Nurses and nursing students do have a tendency to play the one-upmanship game when it comes to comparing nursing to other professions. All professions tend to enjoy implying that they​ have it so much harder than others, but nurses tend to play that card more than others. At least that's been my observation.

I respectfully disagree. I can't remember any of the nurses I work with try and one up other professions. Most have spouses/family members who have jobs with many negatives too. No nurse I work with thought that his/her education was harder that that of our doctors. On AN people do talk about how difficult nursing school is. While quite a few nurses comment on these message board, I don't think an anonymous message board represents the view of all (or even the majority) of nurses out there…and I think it is quite close minded to think that nursing school is harder than any other professional education.

Some nurses may think that, say, teachers have it easy--they baby sit all day and then have all summer off, never work weekends and holidays, etc. (BTW, these are not my personal views). At the same time, some teacher has probably said "I can't believe that nurses only work 3 days a week. Plus they don't have to deal with entitled kids and obnoxious parents all the time." Basically no one in a given profession has the right to make judgements on what another profession deals with, and no one should declare what others professions have the "right" to complain about.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
I just don't think it's fair to negate the work frustrations of non-nurses. Nurses do tend to have a certain attitude (being a martyr, thinking our role is more important than another, resenting those who don't have to "put up" with what we have to put up with, etc ...) and it's not okay. A nurse's role is important, but it's not okay for us to think that we are more important than others.

I am honestly curious to know if this is the attitude of the nurses you work with?? It would be pretty obnoxious to work with nurses who are constantly martyrs of the professional world! I have worked with many nurses and I can count on one hand those that think being a nurse is more important than other roles in society.

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Specializes in Trauma, Orthopedics.
Did you ever have those server dreams? I used to sit straight up in my bed and say out loud "I can't get to that table now. I am at home and they are 10 miles away at the restaurant. They're gonna have to wait.... Or.... Are they seating people in my living room?"

I've always said that the world would be a better place if at some point everyone had to spend a year working for tips. Everyone should have how nice they are (directly) determine the amount of money they make.

I STILL have these dreams constantly. Probably because being a nurse makes me feel like I never left the industry!

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Specializes in Critical Care.
I am honestly curious to know if this is the attitude of the nurses you work with?? It would be pretty obnoxious to work with nurses who are constantly martyrs of the professional world! I have worked with many nurses and I can count on one hand those that think being a nurse is more important than other roles in society.

Yes! I have seen/heard it. "No one appreciates us, no one cares what we put up with, no one (insert complaint here)" ... Sometimes it's a more subtle attitude, so it can be easy to fall into the trap of whining along with them.

Not everyone, of course. And I find that those who adopt a martyr attitude tend to be that way in other facets of their lives. So I'm not trying to generalize (mind you ... reading posts on this site make me afraid that all nurses are like this! ;)), but I find it very frustrating and have recently taken a big step back to make sure I don't turn into once of these "my job is my life, the nursing world will crumble without me, I am what breathes life into nursing, I must die before missing work, you are all WEAK if you don't snowshoe 50km to work and kill a couguar single handedly that dared get in your way". Okay, I exaggerate, but hopefully you get the gist. ;)

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Specializes in Trauma, Orthopedics.
A server's number one job is to create a great dining experience. That mean getting cold water on time, bringing ranch, making sure the steak is cooked properly, etc. In other words, their job is all about customer service.

I think the OP was expressing the dissatisfaction that a nurse feels when he/she is criticized for a customer service matter (like water not being cold enough) because they were busy in a code saving a life.

Please, spare me the job description I had for several years before I became a nurse. But you're pretty much a terrible person if you arent the least bit unforgiving to your 100% human, and usually very busy server who didnt being you your 5th soda refill on time before your meal even came out.

I don't think that's what the OP was saying at all. It was pretty obvious the OP downplayed their right to vent because these people aren't doing chest compressions for a living.

And 99% of the time, neither are the rest of us. So.

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Specializes in Emergency, Telemetry, Transplant.
Please, spare me the job description I had for several years before I became a nurse. But you're pretty much a terrible person if you arent the least bit unforgiving to your 100% human, and usually very busy server who didnt being you your 5th soda refill on time before your meal even came out.

I never for a minute suggested that one shouldn't show respect to servers. I realize that the servers are human. Much like doctors, nurses, lawyers, teachers, etc. they make honest to goodness mistakes. Sometimes multiple tasks add up and something gets forgotten…it happens…it should be no big deal, and it it a shame that some customers expect perfection and act like jerks when it does not happen. However, I think it is a bit unfair for the server to complain "how dare that customer ask for that refill that he paid for."

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Specializes in CVICU.
There are plenty of FB groups and communities dedicated to wait staff and airline staff, where they can vent about customers. Most of the time, I don't quite understand what they are so on about. For example, there is a meme about an airline passenger being unable to get into the bathroom with a pic of a flight attendant laughing. Huh?

I read these things, and my first thought is, "You ARE customer service--no doubt about it--so why are you complaining??" It's not like you've just finished up a rapid response on someone, and you are getting yelled at because you didn't bring fresh water to someone fast enough.

I just don't get it. Everyone is entitled to vent about demanding people in customer service, but my compassion meter is broken when someone in customer service is having a fit over a passenger or customer asking for a glass of water.

The examples you provided are trivial and nothing for service workers to complain about. However, I worked in a restaurant for 3 years during high school and the first half of nursing school, and some of the behaviors that customers exhibit can be mind boggling. I once had a table that was two men, and when their pizza came out, they said that it didn't have enough pepperonis on it (despite the fact that we use a chart to determine how many go on a pizza, so the amount one gets is consistent). I explained this to him and gave him the option of paying less than a dollar for a side of cooked pepperonis that they could distribute as they saw necessary. They rudely declined and ate their food. After they had left, I noticed they had each dropped a piece of pizza on the floor and smeared it (presumably with their feet) into the carpet. This is the kind of **** that warrants social media rants. And it's the kind of vile behavior that every server will experience at least once.

Still, I would rather wait tables than be a flight attendant any day.

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I respectfully disagree. I can't remember any of the nurses I work with try and one up other professions. Most have spouses/family members who have jobs with many negatives too. No nurse I work with thought that his/her education was harder that that of our doctors. On AN people do talk about how difficult nursing school is. While quite a few nurses comment on these message board, I don't think an anonymous message board represents the view of all (or even the majority) of nurses out there…and I think it is quite close minded to think that nursing school is harder than any other professional education.

Some nurses may think that, say, teachers have it easy--they baby sit all day and then have all summer off, never work weekends and holidays, etc. (BTW, these are not my personal views). At the same time, some teacher has probably said "I can't believe that nurses only work 3 days a week. Plus they don't have to deal with entitled kids and obnoxious parents all the time." Basically no one in a given profession has the right to make judgements on what another profession deals with, and no one should declare what others professions have the "right" to complain about.

Honestly, I'm surprised you haven't witnessed this. I wish I was in your shoes. Seriously, my nursing class voted on a class shirt: nursing: gave up my life to save yours. Ick, really?! Sounds good, but like NO ONE in this room is "giving up their lives." They are all in here because they have found a job that they will enjoy, that will be fulfilling, and that provides a lot of bang for your buck. And, seriously, this is one of MANY examples I've seen. When I was a teacher, we never felt like we needed to prove how BA or selfless we were.

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this is the same thing as nurses complaining because a certain patient keeps calling for pain meds.

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Specializes in ICU.

I am quite sure I have less reasons to complain than some service industry professionals.

Oh, my patient's getting too uppity? Time to increase the sedation! :)

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Specializes in SICU, trauma, neuro.

Now if we could only sedate some of their visitors... :whistling:

I am quite sure I have less reasons to complain than some service industry professionals.

Oh, my patient's getting too uppity? Time to increase the sedation! :)

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im not sure how to respond...... it takes a special person to like customer service as a job :p

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