I guess you are also being paid to dress in a manner that disregards your own company's dress code and fits the customer's idea of what is acceptable.

You are also being paid to go against your company's policies to provide change for a customer not buying anything. Or return a product outside of the return policy or which has been damaged by the customer.

You are also being paid to provide directions to a competitor's store despite not living in the area where you work and not knowing how to get there.

Also being paid to negotiate a price on an item in a retail store in the U.S..

And being paid to clean up a customer's child's puke despite your company having clear instructions which prohibit you from doing so.

All things I've been told I am a shitty customer service provider for not doing.

But hey, at least I smile!

I've also been promoted several times, built lasting business relationships with clients who refuse to speak to anyone but me, who won't buy a new product that everyone else is dying to have unless I tell them that I would buy it and have hand written 3 page letters to the president of our corporation.

But you know... that one time I refused to perform work for a customer free of charge simply because they "don't want to pay $40 for that" (true story, repeated numerous times with the most nasal whine you've ever heard) I get to have a meeting about how I could better address the client's needs.

Not once have I been told to smile, no where in the employee handbook or training have I been instructed to do so. No one has ever been written up or otherwise penalized for not smiling. It's not my job to conform to your idea of what good customer service is.

My job is to provide good service and 99% of my clients don't give two shits if I am smiling or not when I do it. My job is to conform to the rules laid out by the owners and officers of the company. My job is to drive revenue and make the company profitable.

Fuck retail, and mostly because of people like you who think my job is to smile. Can you be friendly without smiling? Have you ever tried?

I don't care if the guy at the counter is smiling as long as I get the product I want and have knowledgeable people who are willing to answer any questions I have about it.

What does a smile have to do with it?