Moody Blues

CP: Why do I have to be in a good mood all the time? 

CPP: Who told you you did? 

CP: Them asses. 

CPP: pssst. it's "The Masses", not "Them Asses". 

CP: Enunciation is key to wit. But it works in this case. Why do people believe they get to dictate how I feel? 

CPP: How do you mean?

CP: Patients complaining about us not smiling or being in a good mood. Sorry but, are you always in a good mood while you're at work? Work is a stressful environment. I can't think of anyone who complains they'd rather be at work because it's less exhausting than being on vacation. 

CPP: Especially now with no one wanting to work at all. 

CP: Why do I always have to be the one in a good mood though? Why can't you, the patient or diner or patron, be forced to be in a good mood? 

CPP: It would make our jobs a lot more tolerable if we could force that.

CP: Right? Smile! You're out in public. You're not working but I am. I'd rather be running errands or enjoying life but I'm here trying not to kill people and your glum presence is bringing me down, man. I'm going to need you to smile or crack a joke or at least elevate your mood so I can focus. 

CPP: But we work in healthcare where people often need medications to feel better. 

CP: As I said, high stress, high focus. When people focus on a task, they usually make weird, screwed up faces. Think of sticking your tongue out while threading a needle, or a golfer lining up his putt. Or  defeating constipation! Concentration. Focus. 

CPP: Did someone tell you "it takes more muscles to frown than to smile"?

CP: It takes no effort of any muscles to activate resting neutral face. We are expected to concentrate, quickly fill prescriptions, deal with the stress our employers place on us, then force a smile because a patient believes she deserves it? Nah. I'm not buying it. 

CPP: As we've mentioned many a time, perhaps you get bad customer service because you're a bad customer. 

CP: Right. If patients don't smile at us, or diners don't smile throughout dinner, I believe we should be allowed to dismiss them. Maybe we could add a "didn't smile through our interactions" to their profile or a charge on their bill. 

CPP: We will put it right next to allergies. Personality? "Lacking". 

CP: But don't complain my staff didn't smile. You don't get to tell me how I get to look or feel at work. You don't know what's going on behind the scenes. It's like the photograph I tell everyone to take of the pharmacy. You only see that second of your interaction, not what led to it. Yes, we are in the retail sector. But we are also in the not killing people, hurry up and answer my phone call/just a quick question, dealing with impatient patient field of healthcare as well.