Countering the Culture of Entitlement

Have you noticed entitlement around you lately? Entitlement to treat anyone however you'd like and have them respond however you'd like? Entitlement to get whatever you want when you want it? Entitlement to receive things you haven't worked for or earned, even just on good merit? A "you owe me" mentality?

Last week I went into Barnes and Noble to look for a particular book. I knew they had had it on the shelf because I had looked it up on-line, but when I got to the store I couldn't remember the complete name of the book. I remembered that the word "farmhouse" was in it, but that was it.

When I walked into the store a woman walked over to me and asked me if she could help me. I said yes and explained to her what I was looking for but couldn't remember all the words in the title. She told me to go with her while she tried to look it up.

Fine so far right?

She started looking it up. But, she couldn't find it right away and I think that frustrated her. And so she took it out on me. Asking me question after question and interrupting me as I tried to answer her...... "Is it a book on interior decorating? You don't remember any other words in the title? Author? (Umm. I do good to remember the title let alone the author's name!!) And then the kicker. Well if you know it was on the shelf, you must have seen it so you should know where it is!" (I saw it on the virtual shelf, which you didn't give me the chance to explain!!)

I told her to nevermind. I would go look for it myself.

I walked around the store a little bit, very huffy I might add, and a couple of minutes later she came up to me with the book and just handed it to me. No words, nothing. Just handed it to me. I said "thanks", to which she responded with an abrupt, "Yup" and walked away. I took a brief look at it and put it down. I'm not spending money anywhere with any employee that treats me that way.

This interaction bothered me on several levels.

1. She had approached me to ask if I needed help. I would think she would have been prepared to actually help me.
2. As a small business owner I appreciate every shred of business I receive and I would not want someone working for me like that and losing not only money, but the customer's respect, appreciation and business.
3. Am I buying in to entitlement in thinking that she should have been polite?

I want to start talking about and thinking about these things because this isn't a once in a while experience. It's a very frequent experience in my world. Who likes to call to make any kind of inquiry about a bill or statement or magazine offer? No one! Because you have to wait through impersonal prompts and then when you do get to an actual person, they are more than likely going to be rude to you and bothered that you even called!

This entitlement mentality is prevalent in all sorts of ways in our culture. I want to tackle it so I don't buy into it and my children don't buy into it.

Can you relate to any of this? What would you have done with the lady in Barnes and Noble?