A lot of us older folk grew up in an era where respect for our elders was something instilled in us since birth. People valued and expected politeness and good manners, such as making eye contact when talking to someone and basic courtesies like “please” and “thank you.”
Today, young people are growing up influenced by social media, peers, and other outside sources that teach flagrant disrespect toward their parents and other authority figures, and it seems that rudeness and rebellion are becoming more widely accepted.
Over the past few years, I’ve noticed a disturbing lack of customer service at several places where I chose to spend my hard-earned money. I believe if I make the effort to drive to a specific store or shop and support their business, the least the employees could do is make eye contact to show that they appreciate my business. I don’t like self-checkouts, but I choose to scan my own groceries often because I’d rather not deal with an employee who can’t even look up and acknowledge me standing there. I’m even more surprised when I see mature adults, who should know better, act as dismissively as the younger employees who weren’t taught basic politeness or common courtesy.