One of the (few) benefits of not operating your own business, and instead working for someone else's, is that you take on none of the risks of the business — isn't that the sole reason why businesses and executive management justify keeping so much of the profits?

All this over a screw?

It's always best to take advice from and listen to the person who knows best… and just because you're in charge doesn't automatically mean that that's you. Even the most base level of worker will know more than you about niche details and processes regarding their role. That's the reason why, when entering a new leadership position, it's always best to observe and learn before acting and making changes. There will reach a point where you need to step in and make some changes, some of which may…

Everyone wants to think they have all the answers… but sometimes you don't know even half as much as you'd like to think. We would all do our best to listen to other people's thoughts and opinions before assuming that we have the best and only answer. This student and part-time waiter made the asinine assumption that his method for charging guests was superior to the method devised by his coworker. After claiming that her methods were making it more difficult for him, he insisted that they reve…

At what point are health and safety more important than opening in the middle of a blizzard?

Working in customer service, retail, and the service industry is exhausting. Long hours spent almost entirely on your feet, with inconsistent scheduling and shift work being incredibly disruptive and making it hard to get a routine going in your personal life. Despite this, there's one thing that makes these jobs particularly hellish: people. People are why workers in these lines of work have such a problem with people, and there's really no explaining this to someone who hasn't experienced it.…

There is no shortage of entitled people in this world, but some people take normal entitlement and turn it up to 11. These ‘Super Karens’ have a power level of over 9000, and there's no stopping them in their tirade against the world. Anyone who has worked in customer service, or any role where you deal with the public, has, unfortunately, come into contact with at least one of these people, and each one leaves the mental scarring of an experience that you won't soon forget. This Karen somehow…

The great part about being a manager of a retail location or restaurant is that you get paid a little bit more than the miserable wages of your subordinates. The not-so-great part about being a manager of a retail location or restaurant is that a little bit more still probably isn't a whole lot, and certainly isn't enough for all the bullshit you have to deal with.

Being appointed as a leader generally means that you should be doing at least a little bit of leading: sitting on your cell phone while your teenaged workers suffer the onslaught of a rush is not that. It's a sure sign that someone shouldn't have been appointed to the leadership position they are in and is instead a living, breathing example of the “Peter principle.” Other times the issue is worse still, and the person's appointment to their leadership role isn't due to any previous performance…

The service industry offers its workers a myriad of shitty experiences: Terrible customers, terrible employers, terrible coworkers, and an (often) unpredictable income that relies upon strangers' ethics and understanding of their social obligations.

Those working in retail and service are no strangers to discomfort and, often times it can seem like employer's make it intentionally so.

The thought of being paid less than the legal minimum wage sounds outrageous to some people, especially to those outside of the US, but that's just how the bizarre nature of the US tipping culture works.

There are times in life when temptation is just too great and leads us toward doing something that we probably shouldn't be doing… Take, for example, serving a customer a calzone containing entire chicken wings (bones and all) after they obstinately and repeatedly request it as a special order. When you've been working in the service industry, retail, or customer service for long enough, you get a growing itch to pull off something like this. With every entitled customer interaction, you can fe…

Your first job in the service industry (or retail, I'd argue) is a formative experience. For most of us, it comes at that time in our life when earning some cash is a necessity: Maybe you've just graduated high school or college and need a job; maybe you're still in high school; maybe the career you thought you were going to have as an Olympic level athlete didn't quite work out, and now you have no idea what you're doing with your life. Ignoring the fact that the last example is oddly specific…

In contrast to the other interactions we see posted online by customer service persons, this one is pretty innocuous. It does a great job of providing insight into the sheer number of bizarre interactions you have — week in and week out — when you work in a public-facing role. Not all of them are Karens losing their marbles over the slightest inconvenience — but they will still leave you scratching your head and wondering what in gods name you have just witnessed. I used to sell bikes, and some…

There's nothing that makes you feel so entirely helpless as being bullied by children. It's this weird catch-22 where you both are unable to retaliate but are rendered completely vulnerable by their cutting words. Kids know exactly what to say to cut you down, and their frank honesty can leave you with no retort or means for retaining your pride. This is even worse when you're in a customer service role. Being bullied by anyone in a customer service role feels like crap, but when it's kids doin…