My heart goes out to all the people who have to deal with the public. People such as waiters, waitresses, cashiers and customer service reps, just to name a few. My husband and I was at the grocery store yesterday and while we were waiting in line to check out we noticed another customer ahead of us acting really nasty toward the cashier.
Although we couldn't hear exactly what was being said we could tell that the customer was being belligerent and argumentative to the cashier.
We also couldn't help notice that the cashier was getting red-faced and nervous ~ most likely because she was being verbally abused by the customer in front of everyone!
Did the customer ever once stop to think that maybe this poor cashier might be new to the job or might be having a bad day or might have something personally affecting her? Give her a break!  You should treat people how you want to be treated.

Listen, I have been on both sides of this argument. I have worked as an administrative assistant/secretary and have taken abuse from people for reasons ranging from I couldn't fit them in for an appointment or they showed up at the wrong office and still expected to be seen or I had to cancel and reschedule their appointment due to the doctor having an emergency or etc. I always try to be accommodating because I understand that people sometimes have to travel a far distance for an appointment or have made babysitting arrangements in order to keep an appointment but it never fails, even if you are accommodating ~ you still can't please everyone.

I've also been a customer having to deal with incompetent companies, managers, and employees but before I fly off the handle, I always ask to speak directly to the top person. I NEVER take my anger and frustration out on the employees because that's exactly what they are ~ employees. They don't have the authority to make a difference or judgement call. I don't mind paying for quality service and/or products and I'm not a person who expects something for nothing but I do expect to be treated fairly and depending on what I paid for the item I expect it to last longer than one day after the warranty expires. I'm a firm believer that you get what you pay for so keeping that in mind when I pay for quality ~ I expect quality! If I don't feel that I got that, you will most likely regret the day you met me because I won't be taken advantage of. Just because I'm a girl doesn't mean that I'm a fool. I'll contact whoever I need to for as long as I need to in order to get my complaints resolved otherwise you know what they say, "Word of mouth is the best advertisement so treat me right and I'll tell people, treat me wrong and I'll tell more people. Plain and simple...for businesses and customers...be fair, be honest, and be ethical.