> I try to treat service employees well, not because of some patronizing sense of responsibility, but because I empathize with their position.
That sounds like a patronizing sense of responsibility. I treat service employees the same as I treat everyone else I meet - like a person. Not because they're serving me food/coffee, or because I have some sort of empathy for their situation (I do, I worked retail for a long time), but because they're human beings just like me.
> But I guarantee that you don't treat all people exactly equally.
No, I don't, and it would be incorrect to do so. I don't treat my solicitor the same as my barista, I have different relationships with those people. But for someone I don't know, I treat everyone equally, be they rich, poor, serving me, being served by me, saying hello on the street, etc.
> How often do you leave a tip for a service person (beyond what is expected). How often do you tip your dentist, or your lawyer?
There's an enormous difference between tipping people and treating them respectfully. When I order a coffee, I don't ever shout or abuse the people that are serving me. If there's a mistake, I'll be polite and point it out. If there's still an issue at that point, I'll be a little less polite and probably not return.
When I phone my solicitor, I'm always polite. I don't shout at them, or abuse them, and if there's a mistake, I point it out. I treat everyone the way I would want to be treated if the roles were reversed.
I think the parent comment was implying that I don't treat everyone equally, e.g. I don't tip everyone that I interact with, when really that has nothing to do with it.
People do. A lot. My father was an ophthalmologist,and people really dig being able to see. It was just an endless parade of gifts and people stopping by to say thank you at our household.
>>That sounds like a patronizing sense of responsibility. I treat service employees the same as I treat everyone else I meet - like a person.
I think it's totally OK to treat some people more nicely than you treat others, based on what you know about their position or what they are going through.
That sounds like a patronizing sense of responsibility. I treat service employees the same as I treat everyone else I meet - like a person. Not because they're serving me food/coffee, or because I have some sort of empathy for their situation (I do, I worked retail for a long time), but because they're human beings just like me.