A customer told me I was 'too nice' and it threw me off

I was working the drive-thru yesterday and a guy in a pickup said, 'You're way too nice for this job, you know that?' He wasn't being mean, just blunt. It hit different because I've been told to be friendly for years, but he made it sound like a bad thing. Made me wonder if some people just expect service workers to be grumpy. Has a customer ever said something that made you question the whole script?

3 comments

3 Comments

morgan.troy1mo ago

Man, that's a weird one. It's like he was suspicious of your kindness, like it wasn't real. Some people see a happy face and assume it's fake, so they trust a grumpy person more because it feels honest. They'd rather get a real frown than a fake smile, even if the smile gets the job done better. It makes you wonder if being yourself, even if that's quiet or focused, is better than following the "always cheerful" rule.

allen.ruby8d ago

My friend got a complaint at work for not smiling enough. She's just a quiet person who does her job well. Her manager told her to be more cheerful, so she forced this big, constant smile for a week. People actually got more annoyed and asked her what was wrong. They said her normal, focused face was less stressful than the fake grin.

the_uma1mo ago

Actually, I've found most people are just starved for a little warmth. That real kindness cuts through the noise.