Spring Break
Golden rule, courtesy needs to be reintroduced
Joce DeWitt
Issue date: 5/28/09 Section: Forum
As the Dalai Lama said, "every religion emphasizes human improvement, love, respect for others, sharing other people's suffering. On these lines, every religion had more or less the same viewpoint and the same goal." It is in this basic idea that we have come to understand the golden rule.
However, working behind a cash register at Boardwalk in McNary Dining Center isn't exactly the first place one would expect to witness great manners, but people should still have the decency to be polite.
There I was one day, working the usual closing shift when a customer approached the register with a special order of salad. I was obligated to charge her for a large portion since she chose to put her food on a large plate. Although the plate wasn't completely filled, she had picked out an amount of salad that was larger than that of a small salad price. Yet, she was set on the idea of paying for a small portion. Needless to say, I refused.
What came next was a flurry of swear words aimed at yours truly. I apologized for the inconvenience and the extra price she was required to pay, but the customer, not surprisingly, had none of it.
She probably didn't realize this, but that one little tantrum that she threw about spending an extra two dollars put a damper on my day. I know that as an employee I should expect people to act unpleasantly, but times like those really do come at the worst times.
Common courtesy - and the golden rule - is something that is being taken too lightly these days. I've come to find that people get away with being rude much more now than ever. It is frustrating to come into contact with people who say or do things without thinking about the consequences.
A good example resides right here in Corvallis. Some of you may have heard about a certain feud between a fraternity and its neighboring resident. This local has made quite a reputation for himself within the OSU Greek community by performing unusual activities, such as posting obscene signs on the outside of his house and revving a chainsaw at 7 a.m.
However, working behind a cash register at Boardwalk in McNary Dining Center isn't exactly the first place one would expect to witness great manners, but people should still have the decency to be polite.
There I was one day, working the usual closing shift when a customer approached the register with a special order of salad. I was obligated to charge her for a large portion since she chose to put her food on a large plate. Although the plate wasn't completely filled, she had picked out an amount of salad that was larger than that of a small salad price. Yet, she was set on the idea of paying for a small portion. Needless to say, I refused.
What came next was a flurry of swear words aimed at yours truly. I apologized for the inconvenience and the extra price she was required to pay, but the customer, not surprisingly, had none of it.
She probably didn't realize this, but that one little tantrum that she threw about spending an extra two dollars put a damper on my day. I know that as an employee I should expect people to act unpleasantly, but times like those really do come at the worst times.
Common courtesy - and the golden rule - is something that is being taken too lightly these days. I've come to find that people get away with being rude much more now than ever. It is frustrating to come into contact with people who say or do things without thinking about the consequences.
A good example resides right here in Corvallis. Some of you may have heard about a certain feud between a fraternity and its neighboring resident. This local has made quite a reputation for himself within the OSU Greek community by performing unusual activities, such as posting obscene signs on the outside of his house and revving a chainsaw at 7 a.m.
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David Keating
posted 5/29/09 @ 3:14 PM PST
Thank you for an interesting article. I have Google set to let me know when it comes across instances of the "Golden Rule", which led me here.
I'm always interested to find references that aren't overtly religious and I think you've gone a good job of putting it into the right area of general compassion, not to mention simple common sense. (Continued…)
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