#classism is real

[thecactuspeople]

There a number of things about working in a restaurant that I hate, but one them is how stupidly classist customers can be. This is an actual conversation I had with a middle aged white man in a suit and tie the other day:

Guy: did you guys just close?

Me, literally mopping the floor: yes, I’m sorry we closed five minutes ago.

Guy: so I can’t order anything?

Me: no I’m really sorry.

Guy: why do you close so early?

Me: because when my boss had another restaurant in the past, they closed much later, and he never got to spend time with his family.

Guy: well, he doesn’t have to be here.

Actually, my boss does have to be there. What this rando didn’t know is that my boss is not only the owner, but also one of the chefs. His wife also cooks the food with him, so she can’t be a stay at home mom. Their young son hangs out at the restaurant every day after school and all day during the summer because his parents work so much. We close early so they can actually get some rest and family time together. Plus, it’s really nice for us employees to not have to be there until midnight BECAUSE GUESS WHAT WE ALSO HAVE LIVES. Frankly, I don’t care if you make $90k a year and only hang out with your family on yearly vacations or whatever. You being obtuse about our closing time doesn’t make me want to serve you. Quit being so entitled and figure out how to feed yourself.

[rainbowcelestia]

"Middle-class parents emphasize self-control, intellectual curiosity, and consideration for others. The desired outcomes of self-direction, and empathic understanding transfer easily to professional and managerial jobs that require intellectual curiosity and good social skills. Working class parents emphasize obedience, neatness, and good manners. Gilbert and Kahl (1982) argue that these lead to a concern with external standards, such as obedience to authority, acceptance of what other people think and hesitancy in expressing desires to authority figures....the resulting learned behaviors transfer more directly to supervised wage labor jobs" "Although the United States does have social classes that have been shown to have different values, many people in the United States believe that these barriers of social class are easier to transcend in the United States than in other countries"

Jandt, Fred. E. An introduction to intercultural communication: Identities in a global community (2013). Los Angeles: Sage. (p. 12).