This is probably a very mild rant compared to others I’ve seen here but I’m posting it anyway.
I really dislike the characterization of employees in various service industries as “drones” or “server-bots” or whatever seemingly witty turn of phrase is used to degrade those whose help we need.
I’m sure that some of the people who some of you have dealt with are deserving of the disparaging remarks made here on the boards. I’m just as sure that many are not and I’m writing to ask that we refrain from this.
Just because we are allowed to be bitches here doesn’t mean that we are required to do so.
What exactly gives anyone the right to look down their nose at another’s means of providing for their family or for bettering themselves? The downsizing and outsourcing of many industries has led to some people finding work as store clerks, servers, custodians, taxi drivers, and other positions they may not have previously considered. Others may excell in these positions and proudly go about their daily tasks.
I’m pretty sure that some will assume that I’m a server or a store clerk but it really doesn’t matter what I do for a living so I won’t tell. I will say that I don’t think a higher or lower salary makes anyone better than anyone else. I pit those that do.
I used to work in customer service, and I’ve never been bothered by it. It seems like more of an acknowledgement that this person’s job sucks and doesn’t engage their minds at all, rather than a criticism. I could have been reading it wrong, I guess.
Why do YOU assume that all customer service workers, store clerks, taxi drivers, etc. are being referred to as “drones”? I’ve had the pleasure of working with some stellar CSR’s (both as a manager and as a customer) and I’ve also run into some “drones” whose continued breathing without life support was a mystery.
Exactly what i was going to say. When i see the word drone, i read it less as a comment on the intelligence or humanity of the person doing the work than a comment on the nature of the job itself. I’ve been a waiter, and there were times when i felt like a drone doing it.
There’s yet another commercial on TV right now that portrays retail workers as mindless idiots. It’s for some service that’s time-saving - maybe tax preparation - and after the main characters gush about how much time they’ve saved, the camera cuts to a mindless, mouth-hanging-open stand-in for Terry Schiavo behind the counter who says in the most lifeless manner possible, “So, uh, you wanna see a movie or not?”
Our entire retail and service system is built on exploitation and abuse - it’s actually part of the appeal and motivation for the monied to despise the people doing the work for them. Commercials are designed to reinforce this - “don’t worry about it, they’re just mindless idiots!”
Huh, I thought she was looking at them like that because they were going on and on and on about how quickly and awesomely they just bought carpet from Lowe’s. That commercial says more about the annoying couple than the movie employee.
But then, you have a knack for odd interpretations of commercials, weren’t you the one who characterized the girl who changed her mind about her prescription as “throwing” it back at the pharmacist with a scowl, when in fact, she actually just handed it back (after changing her mind, with good reason) with a smile? Or maybe I have you confused with someone else.
No, the commercial specifically characterizes the employee as being an idiot - mindless stare, inflectionless speech, motionless - the point being that even though these rambling morons are wasting the employee’s time, the employee is just a mindless robot standing there anyway.
The birth control commercial is unbelievably bitchy - the looks she gives the pharmacist during their conversation which is the entirety of the commercial are alternately bitchy and condescending. In the end, there’s so much attitude when she thrusts the bag back into his hand - which is probably legally unsellable at this point - with her cunty little dismissive half-smile.
Can’t get on board with this pitting - when I worked a call centre, I often referred to myself as a drone. That’s what I was - a faceless name, designed to sit there and buzz for the queen.
Nope, you’re wrong. The humor is in the fact that these two are so very very happy that they’re compelled to share with anyone - even the poor kid who’s just paid to sell them movie tickets. Her demeanor is shell-shocked stupor at how ridiculously giddy these folks are. She’s the one trying to bring them back to the task at hand, after all.
I’d be interested in whether others agree with this assessment. Personally, I don’t think the girl in that commercial acts bitchy or cunty in the least. It’s all a matter of perception, of course, but I couldn’t disagree with you more.
But she’s doing it in a retarded, mentally impaired way without a hint of irritation. If she was trying to bring them back, it would be with sarcasm and mild annoyance, not brainless “duuuurrrrrrrr…so moavie or not” response.
It’s a subtle reinforcement of the idea that minimum wage is ok and that it’s ok to go in places and be abusive, rude, or dismissive toward the staff because they’re just drones, robots, mindless, etc. and it doesn’t matter.