# Staff shortages, supply chain problems, customer issues... Are things going downhill in your field of work? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 15, 2022, 11:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686 "2022-08-15T11:51:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/41 "2022-08-19T16:46:31Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > It helps some I think to recognize that it isn’t actually about you and that they may be having other problems we cannot fathom otherwise. Sure, it “helps” to know that this person screaming in your face is actually having other problems in their life, and they are just taking it out on anyone they can find that they do not see in a position to consequence those actions. Of course, you may have problems in your life, too, that the person screaming at you cannot fathom, but one of your problems is that you are being screamed at by customers who displace their frustration onto you. Along with the social status that makes one feel free to abuse others often comes a financial divide as well, and the person being abused is rarely getting paid nearly well enough to put up with it. > [@DSeid](#): > > often I think they honestly don’t remember doing anything that was rude or unjustified. That’s called entitlement. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/42 "2022-08-19T17:12:43Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Nobody is crazy enough to join the cops in 2022. The New Orleans Police Department has shrunk to levels last seen in the 1970s and is continuing to fall. Of course the city is smaller now but crime certainly isn’t. I think twice about driving the interstate through the city and certainly would not go downtown without a very good reason. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/43 "2022-08-19T17:47:51Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > one of your problems is that you are being screamed at by customers who displace their frustration onto you. Yes. But when a patient parent is rude to me I am in a role that I am paid to be in. If I really thought it was about me it might bother me. Recognizing that it rarely is helps it not bother me. I think empathy helps avoid having too much negative reaction. Being empathetic is to some degree selfish of me I guess. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > Along with the social status that makes one feel free to abuse others often comes a financial divide as well, We have patient families across the SES spectrum. There is no observable correlation with SES. Or if anything less rudeness among the higher SES families. Which fits my guess about correlating with other stresses in life which our higher SES families have but less frequently as multi factorial as our stressed lower SES families. > [@k9bfriender](#): > > entitlement Your preconception is incorrect. It’s more that their lived perception is different than what the receptionist or roomer experienced. Again at least as likely to be someone who otherwise has to deal with systemic disadvantages than someone named Karen. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/44 "2022-08-19T17:48:24Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > > [@pkbites](#): > > > > Nobody is crazy enough to join the cops in 2022. > > The New Orleans Police Department has shrunk to levels last seen in the 1970s and is continuing to fall. Of course the city is smaller now but crime certainly isn’t. > I think twice about driving the interstate through the city and certainly would not go downtown without a very good reason. We were just on Bourbon Street last spring. Before that we walked across the bridge into Juarez, Mexico. Allegedly one of the most dangerous cities on the planet. Don’t let fear control your life. Just be aware and prepared. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/45 "2022-08-19T19:25:45Z")
> [@HeyHomie](#): > > I don’t know what can be done about hostile customers, save for a cultural shift, and that would require decades of indoctrination in schools or something, and of course jackasses like Ron DeSantis are going to say that a government school curriculum about being polite and nice to workers trying to serve you is too “woke” or whatever. An environment where management of a store or similar public interface can remove troublemakers from their premises without legal, financial, or social media consequences. Also one where we can actually enforce the “no guns permitted” sign on our door. A lot of them are too far gone to re-educate, I fear, but if we can remove them from public we’ll minimize the damage. They can order their groceries on line and a person with suitable protective gear (mask/gloves or body armor as appropriate) can leave the order outside their door. In other words - treat 'em like the toddlers they (mentally) are. If they can’t behave in public they will be removed from public and put in a corner until their figure out the error of their ways and can be trusted not to be an asshat if let out again. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/46 "2022-08-19T19:37:09Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I’ve always interpreted consumer rudeness as displaced frustration. > > Often people have many stresses in their lives that they have to contain in many of their roles. Then they come upon someone who to them is not a relationship, just the role. The stress and anger elsewhere in their lives just comes out onto the to them relatively nameless placeholder. It helps some I think to recognize that it isn’t actually about you and that they may be having other problems we cannot fathom otherwise. While that is true is some cases in others there are people who basically love to shit on people they perceive as beneath them. We actually HAVE banned some people from our store, but it’s a process and a headache to do it so it’s only reserved for the very worst. In other cases we have to put up with White people who use the n-word as if there are no Black people in earshot, bitch about [f-word][insert ethnic/religious slur] immigrants or whoever, Black people who scream “RACIST!” at anyone paler than themselves… basically, if they don’t actually physically hit one of us there is very little we can do regarding verbal abuse. Well, if they start breaking stuff we can do something. Or running people over with a scooter. Or spitting. Or ripping off a facemask. But just words? Nope, not much to be done there. Well, we or management can ask them to stop. Sometimes that works - but then they call the corporate headquarters and demand that this or that person be fired. Out-and-out lying, as contradicted by the security videos. Some people just like to kick puppies. Then there was the person who used to regularly leave a long, juicy turd on the bench in the men’s changing rooms. Since covid shut down the changing rooms in the clothing department we haven’t had to deal with that, at least. > [@DSeid](#): > > Yes. But when a patient parent is rude to me I am in a role that I am paid to be in. If I really thought it was about me it might bother me. Recognizing that it rarely is helps it not bother me. Yeah, well, that doesn’t work so much for us retail workers. Some of our Karens get VERY specific. If it correlates with anything in my area it is a propensity to display one’s political loyalty via t-shirts, hats, and bellowing. Next correlation would be wealth (though it’s only a minority of the wealthy who act like asshats) and Sister-Bertha-Better-Than-You church ladies, which I will mention are _different_ than simply church attendees, they’re a subset who view themselves as superior to everyone else. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/47 "2022-08-19T19:51:30Z")
> [@pullin](#): > > Although police seem to be at the extreme end, I see a growing reluctance to endure _any_ job that deals with John Q. Public. Too many spineless micromanaging cowards who leave workers to face an angry public. Too many damned-if-you-do-damned-if-you-don’t scenarios. And too many _literally_ dangerous interactions where management’s only contribution is hiding beneath legal’s petticoats till it’s safe, then rushing onto the field to bayonet the wounded. This. So much this. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/48 "2022-08-19T22:30:16Z")
> [@Broomstick](#): > > Some people just like to kick puppies. > > Then there was the person who used to regularly leave a long, juicy turd on the bench in the men’s changing rooms. I’m sure the first part is true. And having stressors does not excuse or justify bad behaviors. That person though? Pooping in the men’s changing room? I’d suspect there is something else significantly problematic going on with him and his life more than him just enjoying annoying strangers who work in retail. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2022, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/49 "2022-08-19T23:06:07Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > I’d suspect there is something else significantly problematic going on with him and his life more than him just enjoying annoying strangers who work in retail. Hard to say. Arguably, it’s a sign of mental illness of some sort. Just once it could be a matter of some physical dysfunction (Unfortunately, the plastic chairs by the pharmacy get scrubbed and disinfected frequently to do the surprising number of frail adults who have bodily waste accidents). Regular basis? Well, there is a sort of juvenile that might find that _hilarious_. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2022, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/50 "2022-08-23T23:03:14Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > > [@pkbites](#): > > > > Nobody is crazy enough to join the cops in 2022. > > We are stretched thin. Soon to be not my problem. Is this about fear of liability? I can’t see that defund the police will ever have any impact on 99.9% of the country. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/51 "2022-08-25T06:56:35Z")
I don’t understand your reponse. Departments arent cutting back, per se. It’s that they can’t get anyone to apply. There are zillions of LEO jobs out there but few applicants. Who is crazy enough to spend 4 years to get a degree in Criminal Justice only to lose your job and pension over a minor mistake or saying the wrong thing? In years past cops got a pass or a slap on the wrist for minor things. Now you’ll lose everything. Who is crazy enough to take a job where you can go to prison over the actions of another officer. And spare me the “officer override” b.s. they’re pushing. You’ll end up getting choked half to death by an equally armed officer. What a choice. Being a cop always had it’s benefits and downsides. Buy in 2022 the downsides far, far outweighs the benefits. You’re just not going to find that many young people starting out willing to do it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/52 "2022-08-25T09:46:47Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Who is crazy enough to spend 4 years to get a degree in Criminal Justice only to lose your job and pension over a minor mistake or saying the wrong thing? In years past cops got a pass or a slap on the wrist for minor things. Now you’ll lose everything. The problem is that in some departments (not all by any means) the slap on the wrist wasn’t just for minor things, they let officers get away with a lot of serious, bad stuff, like in Chicago Jon Burge getting away with torturing the confessions out of over a hundred people, some of whom wound up on death row. Then there were the guys in my county who were selling fully automatic weapons to drug cartels (at least those guys are in prison now). And so on. This has tarred the reputation of all police and resulted in a backlash that no doubt has gone too far in some places. I agree, failure to attract new officers is a problem. I don’t know how to fix it. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 10:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/53 "2022-08-25T10:10:00Z")
You’re talking about major crimes and I was talking about guys getting suspended for a week without pay because they ate their lunch in public (it happened!) or they forgot to enter some minor detail in the roll call daybook (it also happened), or they got fired because after the got attacked and were fighting for their lives they may have used a bad word (also happened). I don’t even know YTF you brought up what you did. Nobody is not applying to law enforcement jobs because they cannot get away with major crimes. They’re not applying because in just a few years the left and the media have beaten to death stories about a handful of bad eggs and turned popular opinion against all police. 100K a year, 4 weeks vacation, an extra week of personal days, 15 paid holidays, 3 weeks annual sick leave indefinitely accruable, all by your 3rd year, and a state pension to boot aren’t even enough to overcome that. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 10:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/54 "2022-08-25T10:26:23Z")
Yes, I know. And you’re absolutely correct about the stupidity of firing someone for eating lunch in public and similar things, but you hit it right on the head with this: > [@pkbites](#): > > **They’re not applying because in just a few years the left and the media have beaten to death stories about a handful of bad eggs and turned popular opinion against all police.** The problem is that those “handful of bad eggs” almost _literally_ got away with murder in a few cases that, as I said, tarred every police officer out there. With the help of the media. Because some horrible departments allowed this, and protected the perpetrators of major crimes, everyone in your profession suffers. Yes, it’s unfair. Unfortunately, I don’t have a fix for it, certainly not in the short term. Going forward, police really do need to trumpet punishing the bad eggs in their own ranks and send them to prison just like any other criminal. Otherwise the civilian world will not trust them. ---
**Author:** ![Teuton](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teuton/32/3864_2.png) [@Teuton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Teuton)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 10:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/55 "2022-08-25T10:49:32Z")
I’m in electronic manufacturing, and we make stuff for the oil industry, but we’ve been on production stop for 2 months because of parts issues. We’re supposed to get these parts at the end of September, but there’s no guarantee we will. ---
**Author:** ![mordecaiB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mordecaib/32/7725_2.png) [@mordecaiB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mordecaiB)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/56 "2022-08-25T16:47:24Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > I don’t understand your reponse. You pretty much answered my question. I was wondering if candidates were worried about being fired or prosecuted in the course of doing their job. > [@pkbites](#): > > You’re talking about major crimes and I was talking about guys getting suspended for a week without pay because they ate their lunch in public (it happened!) If that could happen in NY, I could get officers fired all the time. There has to be more to the story than that. > [@pkbites](#): > > They’re not applying because in just a few years the left and the media have beaten to death stories about a handful of bad eggs and turned popular opinion against all police. The media didn’t make up those stories. It’s that video now shows that police routinely lie in their versions of events. And it’s not a few bad eggs. either. Law enforcement has been covering up their crimes for decades, all with the backing of fellow officers and police unions. You’ve been in law enforcement for decades. How many times did you report other officers for crimes or ignoring regulations? Surely you must have witnessed some things over that period of time. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2022, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/57 "2022-08-25T19:53:42Z")
I am a supervisor for a child welfare social work agency in western PA. Since covid we have had crazy staff shortages and retention issues. We should have 17 caseworkers but are currently limping by with 11. Our support staff numbers (clerical, etc) are up and down but generally filled rather quickly. We just can’t seem to even find people willing to come in for interviews! This seems to be a common complaint in other nearby counties. Since the exodus of caseworkers I have been “blessed” with taking over the responsibility of doing several jobs. I never envisioned spending my last couple years learning an entirely new job. So - I started my retirement plans this year. I have given this place 28 - 30 years of my time and energy. Time to move on. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 26, 2022, 11:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/58 "2022-08-26T11:47:27Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > And it’s not a few bad eggs. either. Law enforcement has been covering up their crimes for decades, all with the backing of fellow officers and police unions. Yeah, all 800K in the USA cops are all criminals. 🙄 Not only are less and less people applying for law enforcement jobs across the board (including corrections, dispatching, etc), enrollment in criminal justice programs at universities and technical colleges is way down as well. This is not a good thing as more and more states are requiring at least an associate degree to be a LEO. Also, less and less veterans are leaving the service to go into police work. On November 1st I can take a full (100% salary) retirement. And this is my 2nd career having already retired from a Sheriffs office in 2007. In years past they’d have given me incentive to retire years ago. I’m at top pay with massive vacation and comp time accruals. Normally they’d want someone like me the hell gone. But with nobody to replace me with they are upping incentives to stay. And the few candidates we are getting are real doozies. They have degrees and such, but do terribly in the testing and interviews. In the scenario tests they completely fall apart. And we’re getting more and more applicants failing drug screening. And applicants not able to successfully pass the physical agility tests. Jesus, I’ll be 62 in October and I can pass them. I do one every year just to prove to myself I can. There is another department in our county that is supposed to have 115 sworn officers. They have 46. This situation is at critical mass. The overtime is burning people out and convincing more people to leave and it’s destroying municipal budgets. ---
**Author:** ![duality72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/duality72/32/3910_2.png) [@duality72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/duality72)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/59 "2022-08-27T20:03:36Z")
> [@mordecaiB](#): > > You’ve been in law enforcement for decades. How many times did you report other officers for crimes or ignoring regulations? Surely you must have witnessed some things over that period of time. @pkbites I would also like to see an answer to this question. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [August 27, 2022, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686/60 "2022-08-27T20:43:06Z")
Then start another thread and stop hijacking this one. Maybe I’ll grace you with my presence. What I did or did not witness or do during my 40+ year career has no relevance to current staff shortages. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/staff-shortages-supply-chain-problems-customer-issues-are-things-going-downhill-in-your-field-of-work/969686.md?page=4)