In Los Angeles parking is notoriously awful signs are beyond confusing
Tickets are expensive and meter maids are prompt as all hell, so, of course one day I'm running late to an audition
So I just park on a street without solving the riddle of the sign and I just run inside
When I got back to my car
There was this like old man and the process of writing me a ticket and just out of pure habit when he handed it to
Me I said thank you and he immediately
broke down crying
Man: *Sobs* Noone's ever thanked me before
Anna: Oh
Man: People are always so angry to see me you know?
I've been cursed at, had stuff thrown at me
One guy tried to punch me. I'm just doing my job, you know,?
Anna: Oh I'm sorry, but it's ok. I mean honestly, it's my fault for not reading the signs.
Man: EXACTLY! It's not like I wanna give everyone tickets. It's so hard having a job where everyone hates you
*Man continues to cry while the valiant Anna consoles him*
But it did get me thinking because
yeah everyone in Los Angeles and I'm sure other big cities hate returning their car and seeing a meter maid and
Knowing that a ticket is upwards of like 50 bucks here
I'm sure people start freaking out because they're financially strapped or upset at themselves
And I started to wonder about all the other people who work jobs that we have a negative association with like people at the DMV
Or tax auditors. How does that make you feel?
Flash from Zootopia: Sad
It's not my fault that the DMV is so slow
Forreal tho I love that sloth scene from Zootopia. So I had to work it in
but anyway
I found that I have more compassion for people doing tough work and that I should really start taking more responsibility
For myself and my choices like it's not a meter maids fault
If I don't read the signs or fill out my parking meter on time
And it's not a tax auditors fault if anyone chooses to lie on their taxes or be really lazy and filling them out
So I encourage you when you encounter someone who can't get your order right or who pulls you over or who's just an animated sloths?
Have empathy practice
accountability if it is your fault and know that we're all just doing the best that we can. Now whenever I feel
frustrated with bad service
I try to imagine that like older gentleman crying and think
You know what?
Maybe this waiter just had a fight with his father and maybe that
Salesperson was just left by their wife and now is trying to figure out how to support their kids on one salary
I remember when I worked at Gamestop in my teens
one time I went to the back room to cry because my sister had died only a few months earlier and
I returned to work 'cuz I really wanted the distraction. But I mean it was tough and
my coworker came into the back room to kind of comfort me and this lady just barged in and
Screamed at us for being horrible customer service reps and that she'd been waiting to check out for like five minutes
And I was like, hey ma'am, I'm so sorry
I recently lost a family member and instead she was just like you're a liar and you're probably having sex with your co-worker in the backroom
And I'll never forget how I felt in that moment
I was so dumb struck that anyone could be that callous over waiting five freaking minutes to buy a video game like
Come on lady. We're all gonna die
I mean, do you really need to have that kind of attitude before we do so yeah
I guess another lesson of this video would be that everyone needs to work food service or
Retail to figure out how to be a better human being I'm Anna Akana
Stay right here for an animated sponsored message from the wonderful Bethany Radloff (Animator)
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*zzz*