Customer Service.

I've decided that I disagree with the Canadian way of dealing with customers. So far, in my experience (in the front lines of customer experience) we bend over backwards to coddle the customer. To me, this supposedly symbiotic relationship has become too much "do what you have to" in order to please the customer. Let's all remember that the customer wants something too, otherwise he/she would not be here.
I work as a waitress right now, which perhaps makes me more vocal about this. I suppose, for me, it gets infuriating when I work my ass off for all of my 6-table section, and then 3 of them leave me with 10% of a tip. Although, as I read in a redflagdeals discussion, 10% is what most people leave for good service.... Just so everyone knows, 10% tip is what you give when you're less than impressed, yet not pissed off enough to not tip at all. 15% is what you give if the service is adequate, and above that if the service was exquisite.
Back to the subject at hand, I'm incredibly tired of people expecting me to be properly emotional and outraged when their meal arrives, I dunno, with a tomato missing or with a french fry out of place. If you have a hair, band-aid, or toe-nail (or anything that would gross me out) in your meal, then yes! Complain! I will see that you are appeased.
However. Should you act disgusted at discovering something in your meal which appears there naturally (see: french fry with a reuben sandwich) (also see: thai noodles on top of a teriyaki salmon) then complaining to me will only result in my dirision. And when you don't tip, it only makes you look worse. How cheap and trashy can you be?! ESPECIALLY as the waitress doesn't really have anything to do with how the food comes out, and that waitress still has to tip out to the kitchen, so if you deny a tip to the waitress depending on the food you're just ensuring that some helpless middleman ends up with nothing rather than punishing the kitchen.
I suppose I'm just tired of having to grin and lick boot to people who treat me like i'm less than the dirt on their shoes. I mean, I'll show up there next week and it'll be the same story- and I'll have to do the same thing- whereas if Canada just paid servers more (maybe included the price of a tip?) then it would be so much better. It would also probably stop people complaining that their sandwich doesn't have as much meat as they were expecting.
Though if I could take a moment to rant at people who don't tip: do you think you can just go out for food and get served without a cost? There is no fast food restaurant that gives you that service, therefore if you want the service of being waited on you better damn well be prepared to add in a tip for that priviledge. Keep in mind, the people who are serving you are also most likely tipping out between 3 and 6 %, meaning that when you tip someone 15% for excellent service, well, you're only tipping her 12%.
So to make a long story short, I'm tired of working in an industry that lets a stranger treat you like a moron while you have to grin, nod, and get what they want. I think it signifies the greater breakdown of our society that you can just go into a restaurant and make a huge fuss for no reason except because you want to get something for free. Let me remind everyone- there ain't nothing for free.

What's Your Background?

Is asking about a girl's heritage really a good pick-up line? If I look back on the random pick-up attempts I have experienced, most of them begin with the strange gentleman wanting to know my ancestor's country/countries of origin. It's a confusing question to begin with because you are suddenly being drawn into a genealogical discussion even though you can see that the guy is simply trying to get your phone number.
If said guy is seriously into you, it's almost worse when he uses this pick-up line. If you tell him where you're from, he then launches into a conversation about the country's politics, entertainment, exports, etc., which leaves you bored and bewildered.
This might not be the best way to start a blog, but it's what I've been thinking about today. Mainly because a guy on the bus started talking to me and wanted to know my background because he guessed wrong twice. I finally told him I was a mix of several countries, to which he replied, "I'd like that mix in my pancake." ...um.... SERIOUSLY?! What does that even mean? It sounds dirty, but really it's nonsensical.
And back to the subject at hand, why is someone's background such a point of interest? I mean, once you really get into a conversation with someone then it becomes interesting to hear their history, but unless their familial countries of origin really make a difference in their lives, it's not something that will immediately come up so why even ask about it? Ah, well. Perhaps it's a subject that is actually incredibly compelling and I'm just the one girl who doesn't get it.
I've had guys guessing I'm Icelandic, Polish, Scandinavian, Russian, and, weirdly, Welsh. It's awkward when they're wrong and it's awkward that they're guessing in the first place. I guess my pick-up techniques tend towards the here and now (because you're dealing with someone you've just met...) but I feel there must be better ways to find out more about a girl you find attractive.