The people who serve you have names

We order a coffee, pay at the checkout, call to complain about something. And we often treat the person on the other side as if they were a machine: without looking at them, without saying hello, in a hurry or rudely if something goes wrong. That person has spent hours serving others before you and probably isn't to blame for what's bothering you. A greeting while looking them in the face, a real thank-you or a little patience can change their shift. Asking for what's fair isn't at odds with good manners. You can say firmly that something is wrong without humiliating the person serving you. The way you treat someone who can't give you anything back says a lot about you.