SCN’s “Dear Gabbie” column is not meant to replace the advice of professionals…especially your mom!

Dear Gabbie:

Is it my imagination, or are people just ruder nowadays? I watched a customer throw a burger at an employee this week. Even if there was a problem with the burger, what was throwing it at someone going to accomplish?   

Signed,

There’s the Beef

Dear There’s the Beef,

You are correct, people are more comfortable being rude in public nowadays. According to a Pugh Research article written in March 2025, “Nearly half of U.S. adults (47%) say the way people behave in public these days is ruder than before the COVID-19 pandemic.” Admittedly, I thought the percentage would be higher, and I didn’t expect the increase to be tied to the pandemic, but it does appear that more people are resorting to rudeness nowadays.

Regardless of the reasons for rudeness, there is seldom an excuse to be rude to a clerk or cashier, and certainly throwing food at them is never called for. Of course, the right thing to do when you think you’ve received poor customer service or a defective product is to ask to speak to a manager. If you still do not get satisfaction after speaking to the manager, you want to write a letter. ßNo, that last sentence is not just me acting old! Admittedly, it’s much easier to jot off an email to customer service. But taking a few extra minutes to locate a corporate person’s name and mailing address … yes, you read that correctly, too … their MAILING ADDRESS … can help to ensure you receive a response from the company.

Just be sure to word your letter politely, explain the situation as briefly as possible, provide proof if you have it, and don’t hesitate to mention if you have in mind a fair and reasonable way the company can make good on its poor product or service.

The key word is “reasonable.” Writing a complaint letter about receiving a handful of burned potato chips with your sandwich order is not worth the stamp to mail it. But suggesting a hotel provide a free night’s stay when you were given the key to a room that had painter’s tape left around all the doorways and moldings—that is reasonable. Yes that really did happen, and yes, we were given a new room immediately when we called the front desk. But when the second room didn’t have a power cord for the television, it was time to consider making the corporate office aware by writing a letter after we returned home.

Nowadays, you even have the benefit of using AI to help you word the letter appropriately. And, if you are of a certain generation, you also may want to Google to find out how to address the letter and how to purchase a stamp!

Gabbie