Friendliness - You're entitled just 'cause you're there!

wrote the following:

I believe in being polite.  I believe behaving towards others with respect.  I believe that others shouldn't pay for my bad night, sad life, miserable situation.

 But I don't "owe" you a smile when I walk down the street, enter the office, deliver service.

 I've done it for the sake of my job. When I promise to adhere to company policy I do so - even if it means faking the mood.  Of course then, I have to hear about "phony smiles"  and non-genuine friendliness.

 I'll cop to those: I'm not always feeling it deep inside.  Frankly, no-one is entitled to that from me.   Friendliness, much like true respect or admiration is mine to decide to give.  Feel free to consider me stingy, snobby or what have you in my delivery of friendship.

 When I'm at work I'm thinking about due diligence - did I get your request right, answer the question accurately, give related information as needed, document your case to avoid future issues, communicate the situation to the right people. 

I wonder what else I could have done, could still do, what I could learn from that situation..How can I reduce the time frame, so you can get back to your real life.

I'm not trying to give credit on bad attitude on the grounds that I failed to deliver on the warm and fuzzy.  I'm here to work, not be your friend.  In response to that some say - well those who use social skills make it farther - quite true.  So when a customer turns nasty because she mentioned her kid and I turned the conversation back to the issue at hand - what - she's trying to help me in my career???

I appreciate those who choose to be kind, or gracious or charming, but I sure don't make it a requirement! What is a requirement for me when dealing with customer service or strangers is fair play, keeping a promise, getting answers that are for real - not what the salesperson feels like saying cause they just want to get it over with or have a personal opinion.  In my job - I'll admit to not knowing by checking my info.  I want that in return.

WHen I'm the salesperson, I try to keep my feelings out of it - I don't always agree with the person I'm speaking to.  Keeping my personal feelings out of it helps me stay neutral.

And when I'm the customer - friendliness isn't a good trade in place of accurate answers.  If that's your philosophy - keep your friendliness, I prefer valid info - those I can use.