I have seen the interactions that people who work closely with the public sector encounter with their customers on a somewhat regular basis. Far too often it's not good and customers take their frustrations out on people who have nothing to do with the situation they're complaining about. One such example is how they complain in the checkout line to the cashier about the price of groceries. The same goes for servers at restaurants.
More often than not these people make far less money than the customers complaining about food costs. The people they're complaining to have nothing at all to do with the high cost of food and it impacts their family as much as it does anyone. I make it a point to give positive comments any time I get good service and be pleasant to them. I make a point to tip well when I get good service. I tip above the average recommended percentage even for average service. Quite often I have had servers look rather surprised by the amount I have tipped. I don't really say much in response. My standard reply is that I know how much they depend on their tips and we all have to eat.
I don't consider any of that special. I don't think it makes me some kind of great person or anything. All it really does is help bring a sense of balance to people that as a whole often times have a pretty crappy day because of how they are treated by the public. All it takes sometimes is a little positive reinforcement and to know they are appreciated to help turn someone's day around and it isn't a difficult thing to do.
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