Reply #10: You sound like a good employee there.

[riverdeep]

I learned long ago my tolerance for dealing with the public is limited. I prefer to work with things rather than people, although some people are awesome.

But your point about the impersonality of it all I found compelling. 100 years ago, we moved less often, building more ties to place. Walk into the general or grocery store and yeah, it'd be hard to get away with that kind of behavior. Today, we can travel the interstate, get our tank filled from the faceless corporate gas station franchise, stay in a faceless corporate motel, stop at the giant random box store to pick up some supplies, etc. And every one we see at these places will be wearing that company vest, which start to look alike after a while, and more often that not, telling us in a semi-zombie state to "thank you, come again." It's almost like the stores aren't really inhabited by real people. Combine this with many people's increasing entitlement and 'gonna get mine' attitude, and there's the worst parts of your day.