Disrespect of all Village employees
 

I would like to know why more residents are showing disrespect to Village employees. It seems that none of us ever do things right.
It doesn't matter if you are working at a golf course ,gate or at a recreation center. Most of us are doing the best that we can. we enjoy what we are doing and just want to help with making your day more enjoyable.
If someone doesn't smile or accept your complaint with a smile , you feel that you have been wronged and want to report us to have us lose our job.
All I would like to have is an honest answer to this question.

I can only control my own behavior.
I respect my fellow neighbors that are working in The Villages.
I have a name for those that you refer to, but would rather not post that name on here.

I don't know who is disrespecting you. I told the chef st Bonifay today how much I enjoyed the food and her staff. I've told the folks who plant the flowers along our roads "thanks" for making my neighborhood so beautiful, the golf course maintenance crews thanks for making it so much fun to play golf here, etc. I appreciate everyone who makes this such a nice place to live.

I feel for you, but it is some villagers, not all villagers. AND those who are so rude and impatient and unfair to people who are working, shame all of us.

Shame on them!!! When you encounter the rude just repeat to yourself. Lord forgive them for they know not what they do. Smile, and you have a wonderful day, let them be their miserable self!!

Sorry to hear this!
 

I am fairly new hear and have had nothing but outstanding results from village employee's. They are friendly and eager to answer any rookie questions I may have. Course I sure there are some of the well to do's that think the world stops for them and get off on making somebodies day BAD, but I haven't seen it yet.

By the way, Thank You! for your service and to all the villages empolyee's. I for one appreicate it beings I just left work force. I too remember the days the bear tried to eat me, but I smiled and kept on truckin..

First your attitude shown in this post might be part of the problem, but it appears from your post that you are young or inexperienced.

Life, jobs, relationships, whatever are not always perfect. You are not always appreciated, you WILL be treated rudely.

Satisfaction of your job comes from YOU and inside.

If you have chosen to work and have a career in hospitality or anything kindred, come to grips with the fact that each day will not be perfect. All you can do is YOUR JOB everyday to the best of your ability with a smile on your face, and remember what your job is....NOBODY owes you a thank you.....they EXPECT you to do your job.

That is life and is not going to change.

On the plus,you will have those days where someone appreciates everything you do and that will make up for it all.

Every employee I have encountered so far has been friendly and competent. Keep up the good work.

I think part of this could be a difference in customs from place to place. I am not from New York but worked there for many years, and it took me a LONG time to get used to the abruptness of New Yorkers. Here in The Villages, there are polite Midwesterners and charming Southerners and demanding Northerners all jumbled together. There are bound to be misunderstandings.

New York! New York!
 

I wonder if any of us Midwesterners, Southerners or Hillbillies(such as myself)etc. could have handled 911 with the bravery, efficiency and class as did Northerners in New York. I was and am completely in awe of them and I think they're just great. The ones I met in TV seemed free of a lot of b.s.ing, under the guise of charm, found in the rest of us. Viva New York!

Amen to that.

Some people don't know what does it mean to have respect. It is a kind of education and acceptance. I know how hard it is to do a job as best you can without any kind of honor.
I learned a long time ago that the best weapon against ignorance and disrespect is a smile. So, mostly I am smiling wherever I am and guess what? People smiling back, on the street, during shopping or strolling around.

Wow, I guess you make the point.....
My spouse worked with the public here for over seven years and came home EVERY day with a story about an unbelievable rude or obnoxious customer. Still persevered through the garbage until an opportunity presented itself that would not require public interaction. It is truly unfortunate for all the customers because they lost an outstanding person that has dedicated themselves to customer service. Attitudes like this, "just be happy you have a job" or "you knew what you were getting into when you took the job" that so many people around here exhibit are what led to the loss of an employee that LED the company in positive performance evaluations. Secret shopper evaluations at 100% but left because of over the top rudeness and sometimes flat out meanness. Sorry, your loss in the long run.
Now we just wave at you in our golf cart and enjoy our lives ......

I have met wonderful Villages employees! The lady who works at the gate to the historic side is one such example. She smiles at each person coming through the gate and never fails to offer a kind word. Today it was "have a frivolous Friday!" She makes me smile and I appreciate her kindness. These people make our lives here in paradise just so much nicer. Take a minute to acknowledge them, please!

Disrespect of all Village employees
 

I want to sympathize with you (and the op), but you really do make it sound like ALL Villagers are rude and mean. If an employee feels like that, I can't help but think there's more to the story than just Villagers' attitudes.

The term "all" in the thread title makes me question the motive here. There is no doubt that some villagers are rude and disrespectful. But saying "all" employees are being treated with disrespect and rudeness is just not a credible assertion.

I think he's stirring the pot as usual.

I respect EVERYONE who works for a living
 

I was born a coal miner's son, reared in a coal mining town till I graduated from West Virginia University (dug ditches to help pay my way through college). When I find out that my restaurant waiter or waitress is working his/her way through college, I add a few bucks more to the usual tip I give.

As they say, if you want respect, you need to give it. So people who disrespect working people are reflecting on themselves, not the working person.

As Gracie points out, there are a few bad apples in every barrel, working person or not.

Thank You from a New Yorker! We aren't all crude.

Also, Many Thanks to all The Villages employees that make our everyday lives great. This is a wonderful place to be.

I couldn't disagree with your generalization more, and I am from New York. I think it is more a product of how your parents raised their children. Some parents had grace and charm which filtered down to their children, and then some children developed their own charm, if their parents were rude or condescending.

I am appreciative of village employees as some have to work for a living, and I would never be rude to them. Some people get off by putting down other people, as they think it elevates their status in life.

Jerry Seinfeld said that when a person reaches the age of 60, somehow they have earned the right to be cranky. If one chooses to be a cranky pants, that's their decision. Life is too short to be too little.

Everything in life and people are not perfect. Expecting them to be perfect places an awful burden on yourself. If you are doing the best you can, you must accept that is good enough, for an imperfect world.

Good thought.

I gave blood at the 44 Fire Station on 9/11/2014 and the phlebotomist was one of the best I have had while giving blood anywhere since 1985 or so. Almost no pain when the needle went in. I helped that she was kind of cute.

The fire station staff seemed professional as did the any volunteers at the Parrot Head blood drive on 9/11. http://oneblood.org/

I rarely have had any rudeness from Villages' employees. I can think of maybe three incidents since we moved here in 2005. I believe I have mentioned all of these on TOTV at some point so no big deal.

With 100,000 people living in the Village you are going to get some boneheads. They come in all flavors.

The response here can take many forms and they would all be right.
Perhaps the person offended is too sensitive?
Perhaps the person offended sees condescending behavior that is imaged?
" " " " that is real
Perhaps the person doesn't recognize that a resident is pre-occupied or upset about something else?
Perhaps the person thinks this person is a resident but he/she is from the surrounding area or a guest?

ETC ETC ETC

When you use absolutes and say that all employees are disrespected and that it seems that none of you ever do anything right, I can't buy it either.

Hopefully someday they will stop spitting on your food...barf

Well said! Thanks from a NEW YORKER.

The derogatory remarks about New Yorkers highlight the lack of respect some people show for others working and living in The Villages. I will never understand why some people feel the need to put down other people.
In my experience there are nice and rotten people all over the world. Luckily, the nice ones far outweigh the rotten ones.

I am not sure what you meant by this post. Can you or someone enlighten me.

In my career dealing with difficult people came with the job. It was in fact a big part of it. What a good feeling o take a person from a negative to not only a positive and often in the process to find a new friend. Of course there are people who are just so full of hatred and self loathing that perhaps only God can penetrate their thinking but the vast majority of people just need a little attention and a kind word.

I hope I never run into rags on my job at the golf courses.

I am a foodie so I wish there were chefs from CIA(culinary institute of America) or equivalent. Don't know if there are even a few in The Villages. Just as DC was barren in late 70s as far as gourmet food was concerned, TV reminds me of that period. Now DC is teaming with excellent restaurants. Am writing in Village Gourmet Club reviews hoping restaurant levels will improve. Bonefish and a few country club restaurants can't be the only good venue. There are enough fast food and low end food chains already. You think there are no demand for good culinary restaurants?

Maybe there are a lot of people here like us, who don't put food and meals at the top of our priorities list. We watch our weight and our spending even though we can afford to spend what we want on dining.

We go out to "good culinary restaurants" for a birthday or anniversary, but other than that, we're not interested because the quick, lite appetizer menus at so many affordable restaurants are just fine with us, several evenings a week.

We don't spend the money on a big, culinary meal very often because it's often not much more enjoyable than getting something quick and lite around here on a breezy patio, watching the people go by.

Would they have:
- senior specials
- allow sharing...with no upcharge
- happy hour
- really cheap prices
- able to handle all the complaining
?

I find the response to my saying I had a hard time getting used to the abruptness of New Yorkers interesting. It was not meant to be derogatory. I did not say New Yorkers were bad, or wrong, or even rude. I was just describing my experience. I grew up in a place where people rarely raised their voices and moved to a place where raised voices were the norm. It took me a while to deal with that. And I must say, I never really did feel at home there. There were wonderful things about New York. The sense of humor. The vibrancy of the place. The way people pulled together after 9/11. But the response of New Yorkers to my use of the word "abrupt" is kind of proving my point.

I thought the very same thing about the responses. I think it is a fact that New Yorkers are generally more "abrupt" than people in the midwest, south, etc. I had to get used to that, too.

The "abruptness" can make us who are from other parts of the country feel like we're not worth talking to, when really, they're just used to a more fast-paced, hustle-bustle area and don't take time to chat.

Even though I'm a midwesterner who likes to converse about lots of things with anybody around, I mentally roll my eyes when people do a sugar-coated exchange of pleasantries at the checkout counter, while the rest of us just want to buy something and go. In fact, that drives me nuts!

Roll your eyes?? Try the "sanity test" of standing inline for self check out, talk about torture...

All of The Villages' employees I have ever dealt with have been just great. When considering the OP's problem I thought a while and came up with a job I could not handle, that of a gate agent for an airline.

You said they were demanding.

Dear PBKMaine, what would make you think it was a Northerner or New Yorker who was giving this person a hard time????? I have met some really nasty people from the Midwest and Maine!

seems all the protesting comments are from new Yorkers!

No, I did not. I said Northerners were demanding. I am a Northerner.