Anthropology Analysis of Attitude Towards People Depending on the Profession

During the summer vacation, I decided to do what most students engage in, find a summer job. The process was not as hard since I had prior experience. For an 18-year-old like me, the engagement would provide the necessary disruption not to engage in antisocial behavior. Furthermore, I would earn some cash to buy myself the latest model of iPhone and have some savings. That is why I got a summer job at a seafood restaurant called Crabby Oddwaters in Sunbeach, North Carolina.

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I worked for 7 hours, five days as a server. My duties involved taking orders, serving food and refreshments and cleaning the tables. In general, I had to make sure that the customers were satisfied with the service. As the job dictates, there is no particular qualifications are necessary to be a server. As long as I followed the orders correctly, looked presentable, and had excellent customer service, the job was relatively easy. However, being a server was challenging on this one day when I had an encounter with tough customers. The clients visited regularly and were always drunk. That Friday, the customers ordered some food and drinks. I diligently ensured that their order was as per instructions. I served them and left to serve on other tables. After thirty minutes, they asked for some more drinks, and I delivered. Later, after they finished, they asked for the bill. I summed up what they had spent and gave them an invoice.

This was when all the misunderstanding started. The customer who had ordered claimed that the money indicated was more than they had anticipated. I politely explained the figure, but they could not listen to reason. They started hailing insults at me, which made me very perplexed. In my opinion, I had done no wrong. I decided to keep calm during the incident. The clients claimed that I was an illiterate person, who waited tables for a living. Also, they argued that I had inflated the bill yet I could not afford to buy anything at the restaurant. This time, I was boing with anger on the inside but could not let it show. I wished I could prove them wrong by letting them know that the employment was only for summer and I was indeed a sincere and intelligent student. I summoned my supervisor who sought the misjudgment. This was an extreme case of disrespect that I faced while working as a server. On other occasions, people would utter hurtful words.

The fact that I was a server did not mean that customers could treat me with disrespect. It was a job like any other. Furthermore, the customers required service, and I was there to give and make them comfortable. Incidentally, it was inappropriate for the customers to define my societal stature by the summer job. Without knowing my background, people thought that it was acceptable to make conclusions about me. Many students have been taking summer jobs during vacations. Also, when at work, it is unlikely that someone would tell the students apart from the regular employees. A student like me, who decides to work during their vacation portrays their ability to be reliant, accountable, responsible and organized. They also learn how to plan, keep time and relate with people. These attributes will contribute positively to their discipline and hard work in their career.

The society has defined a person's worth according to their job. For instance engineers, doctors and lawyers are getting much respect in comparison to servers, shop attendants and groundsmen. As much as the doctors earn more than the servers, their services are equally important to the society. According to Systems Theory, the society comprises of different interrelated and interconnected parts. For the system (society) to function correctly, each unit has to perform their duty (Dumont & Parkin, 2006). Therefore all of us have to coexist harmoniously, for the society's good and respect each other.

References

Dumont, L., & Parkin, R. (2006). An introduction to two theories of social anthropology: Descent groups and marriage alliance. New York: Berghahn Books.