Bad Service? We Expect it.

Today is a momentous day for my blog. Today's article will be about what I did today. Most people use blogs as an online diary, a place where they can tell the world what they had for lunch today, or how many times they went to the toilet. At first I had not planned to write little, if anything that gives you, the readers of this blog, a clue to my lifestyle. I try to maintain slight bit of mystery about me. That ends today.

I went back to my old school today. It was smaller then I remembered it. Maybe. I can't remember. I got too drunk during my after school's parties I wouldn't recall the class I was in, much less the table I sat at. Luckily, my friend Vincent, who manages to remain much more sober then me, was also at school that day. With his help, I found the staff room and such.

Talking to teachers is easier now. The shadow of authority that used to enshroud them like a protective cover against the uneducated masses; (me and you), was now non-existent. To my surprise, two of my friends, (I'd like to call them that), are now student teachers, waiting for their STPM results. Perhaps they had forgotten how they were like two years ago. I wish them luck. They will need it.

But now, I'm drifting. So anyway, Me and my friend went to Megamall for lunch. We took the LRT from Hang Tuah to Bandaraya station. We then took a KTM train to Megamall.

One thing about our local trains. They are too mind-bogglingly slow. The only reason the Japanese Imperial Army stole our bikes on the way from Thailand is, if they had taken a train from Perlis to Singapore, they would only get as far as Batu Gajah by the time the Americans bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Through their spies, they knew that cycling 500km on old trunk roads would be faster then taking our trains.

We went to Chili's in Megamall for lunch. for anyone who has been there when you were young, you can notice a huge difference. The quality of the service.

When you came with your parents, you were treated like royalty. There would be someone smiling to open the door for you, another smile as you are guided to a table, a smile as you got your menu, and finally they waited on your table as you decided what to order.

If you are a teenager and you go to a steak house, you are going to receive bad service. It doesn't matter if you were the heir to the Genting fortune, or Crown Prince of Chekhajerbainistan. Waiters won't trust you to pay for your their services because you are an untrustworthy teenager.

I had to open the door myself, someone pointed to an empty table and we got our menus as we were walking in. It was not peak hour either. Thanks to the efficiency of the local train service, we arrived at the restaurant at 2.37pm. Hardly a busy time. Our order did not even merit writing on a proper order slip. I was written on the back of the order book, on the brown paper.

Even after I gave the internationally recognised 15% tip, (a sizable amount as the meal for two had cost RM136.45), no one batted an eyelid. The door was half-opened by a busboy who merely mumbled a "thank you for coming", before closing the door on my back.

The thing is, I know they are capable of so much more, as I had come here before with my parents. If you are a working adult in your mid-twenties, they treat you as if you were about to buy every waiter a new car. If you are a teenager, they everyone thinks you are about to rob the place, burn it down, then pee on the ruins. Its appalling.

Why all this distrust? In my opinion, It began with that boy who yelled wolf.

By bringing the entire village, who were all made up by adults, come running to him as a prank, he has betrayed our kind.

Now all people has an unfounded bias towards teenagers. Adults must know that not all teenagers are money-grubbing no-good, hip-hoppers, gang-banging, donkeys that should all be in prison. The time to change is now.

When was the last time you had bad service because you were young? How many sales clerks has fawned over your parents who were buying a gift for you while completely ignoring you? Its time to stand up for our rights, as consumers with money. It may be our parents money, but the people in sales should know that its us who spend it. Should you recieve bad service, just walk away. The sales assistants should know that they had failed to close a sale that day, and change their habits.

It won't happen overnight, but I dream for a day when both parents and children be treated as equal customers. For now, I'll just dress older and bore my guests about talk of 12% interest rate per annum, and tip toe should I need help in a purchase.


P.S. : You may recall in my last post, I was not going to post anything today. Well, I lied. And you know, as a teenager, I can't be trusted.