Seattle’s service industry may have a reputation for being a bit cold and sometimes even smug, but for every dismissive, hair-tossing elitist hipster server, there is an obnoxious, self-entitled customer. I want to take an opportunity to reflect on the behavior of customers, and to empathize with customer service representatives who have to deal with bad mannered clients on a daily basis.

Sometimes it is easy to criticize the service industry when you’re on the opposite side of the cash register. But the server is not the only party bound to the laws of etiquette. Retail is an interdependent, symbiotic relationship between seller and buyer; cordiality goes both ways. After all, customers are guests, so when we peel ourselves off of the couch and squander our time and money on overpriced gourmet cheeseburgers at the latest pretentiously posh gastro-pub, we also must subscribe to a code of conduct. We have an obligation to be appreciative, generous, and at the very least, to conduct ourselves in a tactful manner....

By Cameron Levin - from Belltown Messenger #67 - May 2009

Belltown, a hub for culture and the arts, attracts a vast gauntlet of bourgeois couples, shoppers, foodies, hustlers, retirees, backpackers, party seekers and random wanderers, in the same way that low-rise, skinny jeans attract muffin-top girls who can’t fit into them. In a community this diverse and miscellaneous you never know what to expect from people, nor should you. For retailers, from the high-end destination storefronts to the 2nd-hands, the mere concept of a “customer profile” is antiquated, because today our identities are not defined by our socio-economic origins. We choose how we spend our money and our time based on our values. For me, that can mean buying quality, non-outsourced products from (gasp!) Louie Vuitton on 5th Avenue, or quirky handmade treasures at Nancy and Fancy, a.k.a. the “trilogy of awesome.” Sales associates should connect with their shoppers based on those shoppers’ values, not on their appearance. Good customer service...

Update 4-20-09

A note from the publisher:

I have heard that somebody is displeased with the Manner's Maven's treatment of Baby & Co. and has taken it upon themselves to call Belltown Messenger advertisers and ask that they boycott the paper. This person does not understand how the media works in a Democracy.

I didn't think MM's last piece was her best work but I stand by her nevertheless. I have encouraged her to concentrate on bashing big corporate business, or maybe the sleazier drug-infested Belltown nightclubs, rather than small mom and pop businesses. The Messenger gives total creative freedom to it's writers though, so that's up to her.

An interesting note for our (as of now) anonymous attacker - when Elaine and I started the paper six years ago, our motto was "don't fuck with us." That has served us well over the years, as anyone going around attempting to tarnish Belltown's favorite community newspaper will eventually find out.

-Alex

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Manners Maven - a new column by Cameron Levin

Belltown. It’s where...