When I was 13 years old, I had a paper route as my first job. I delivered one of those unknown papers that hardly anyone reads -- except to get the coupons inside -- and got paid $20 to hustle 150 newspapers around four blocks for two days out of the week.

At that moment I should have realized that every job relies on respect.

It was my oldest paper-reading customer that didn't seem to understand this concept.

A man, about in his 80s, never let me live down that I couldn't get his paper to his house at 3:00 p.m. -- the apparent time he wanted it there.

Now you have to realize, I was in school until 2:45 p.m. This allowed me, not of legal driving age at this time, to get across town to my house, load up my newspapers and go the other way into town to get "miracle man's" paper to his house. No wonder I couldn't get it there by 3:00 p.m. I guess school isn't that important, right?

Well, if that man taught me anything, it was that the employee must value the right of the customer and the customer has to give the same back in order to run a smooth routine.

Eight years later, I have had the pleasure of being a waitress for three years, analyzing chemical amounts in swimming pool samples for two years, being a telemarketer for three months, working as a secretary for two weeks, and now the coveted position of working in a food establishment.

In each and every one of my positions I handled customers complaints, needs, wants and wishes to my fullest capability.

Every occupation has to. That's how a business operates.

Sometimes I think the food business deals with the worst people. Whether it's not getting a well-deserved tip, having to kick people out or trying to look past the ignorant comments made, most employees put up with a lot of crap.

So in order to fulfill daily expenses many employees here deal with various types of students on a day-to-day basis, trying to follow the golden rule of "the customer is always right."

I hate that saying.

Customers are not always right, and I can also speak from a customer perspective.

For the most part, all servers I have encountered here are pretty easy-going.

They try their hardest at keeping a smile on their face and making sure everything is satisfactory for their customers.

Sometimes, however, this task is impossible to say the least.

Constantly, they are forced to subject themselves to those people who will just never be content no matter what the situation.

The people who think no one can see them stealing things.

The ones who think closing times don't apply to them, so they stay well past. The ones who apparently think that because they don't like the price of something, someone with no control over it can change it to suit their liking. I've seen workers have to deal with all of them.

And the drunk people, oh the drunken people.

I don't know how bartenders and servers do it in this town.

I mean, it's one thing to be drunk and stupid (don't worry I've been there too), but it's a totally different story to be drunk and out-right ignorant.

Now, I'm not trying to generalize here because I know the majority of hungry, thirsty customers are pretty polite and understanding (even the intoxicated ones). I also know that there are some bad employees as well.

Those workers that just don't care and would piss me off if I were a customer too. In fact, some have.

However, these few occasional consumers, the ones that make an employee cringe every time they see them enter, are the ones I am having a problem with.

Do people really think that by being disrespectful to someone will make them want to be pleasant back to them? Do they really believe that they will want to put in the extra effort to make their order perfect? Yelling at the person that has complete control over what goes into your food or drink isn't going to get you very far.

Most of us seem to grasp this simple system.

But some don't.

I don't think they realize that most waiters, waitresses, bartenders, bouncers, servers, hostesses, etc. are people too.

Maybe these workers are just trying to avoid the preventable experience of having their electric turned off or maybe they are trying to further their career. Whatever the case, just have some common courtesy.

I don't expect everyone to walk in acting like they just won the lottery.

And I'm not asking for each person to make it a point to tell their waiter how great of a job they are doing. But a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T from this select bunch would be nice.