I work in customer service, and I’ve noticed just how rude people can be. And it’s not just the middle aged “Karens” that most, if not all of us, have become accustomed to. 

I am a teenager, but I admit that teens can be just as bad as adults — if not worse. Back when we still ran orders out to cars, I would go up to the car as friendly as possible, and some teens took the food and threw the money at me. When we tell someone on the phone that they have to wait two hours or longer, it’s usually younger people who get angry. 

Perhaps the root of the issue is that we have become so enamored with technology that we forget to look up and say thank you, or maybe the real problem is that some people simply weren’t taught how to use that phrase.

Teens should know to be respectful and at the very least treat service workers like human beings. On some days it feels like we are treated like robots. Rest assured, we are human. There is a human at  the other end of the call, behind the counter, behind the mask. Most of us genuinely want to help customers, but mistakes happen and the world would be a much better place if everyone showed everyone the slightest bit of human decency. 

We need to wake up and start to treat other people better. We as a generation are so much more than snide remarks and glares. We need to start showing it.