Months ago, when Shy Guy and I were having dinner at a Chinese restaurant in Quezon City, our conversation turned onto the Irate Customers and Rude Waiters Avenue. We figured when a fight between a waiter and a customer can get so messy, a whiny customer can just be assaulted in a way that he or she wouldn’t even know ever. This was when he suggested that I write about people around us that we should not piss off because of their silent attacks.

It’s been more than a year since I posted the 18 most annoying types of people on this blog. Irritating as they may be, they should still be treated with respect. Everyone deserves a little respect. Even those around us who seem to have very little significance in our lives. Yes, it may be little but mind you, that’s still something. And that little something can affect you in ways you can never imagine, you could never know or too late to do something about.

Here’s a list of the people around us we wouldn’t want to screw over and why we shouldn’t.

10. Never mess with waiters.

“Never mess with the people who serve your food.”

image courtesy of discoveryeducation.com

We all want to watch everything we put in our mouth but are we sure that the food we are taking in is safe and clean? If you have a waiter/cook friend, you probably have an idea how vengeful they can get to customers that are just insufferable. Suffice it to say that when you piss off a waiter, that cream you think is Bavarian came from another German town called Sinus.

9. Never mess with jeepney drivers.

Never mind taxi and trike drivers because you can always tell them to turn around and drop you off where he’s supposed to but with jeepney drivers, there’s no going back! So if you get sooo mean to the driver of the jeepney you are on, don’t wonder why he stopped only after 500 miles from where you should get off.

The funny part is, he can always get away with “Ay, hindi kita narinig pumara.”

8. Never mess with your hairstylist.

image courtesy of ehow.com

If you’re having a bad hair day, maybe it’s not Murphy’s fault. You could blame your hairstylist. They won’t slit your neck but a bad hairdo is enough to make you suffer for a long period of time. And maybe that’s because you just had a fantastic time in bed with her boyfriend the night before.

7. Never mess with Customer Service Representatives.

I’m not sure about this but my officemate/friend, who used to be a call center agent said that when the caller was unreasonably mean to her, she would let her wait for a long while and would promise to work on her complaint but she never would.

Wahahaha.

6. Never mess with your postman.

Remember that admission letter from a university abroad you’ve been waiting for all this time? And the Adsense PIN Google told you they had sent already? And that romantic letter from your boyfriend from inside of the prison? If they didn’t arrive, it’s one of the following:

a. They’re in your neighbor’s mailbox

b. They’re lost.

c. The senders didn’t send them.

Blame the sender for letter C but for A and B, it’s either:

a. It’s an honest mistake.

b. You called your mailman an inconsiderate, stupid son-of-a-bitch when he stepped on your lawn some time last year.

Hmmm…

5.  Never mess with your maids.

image courtesy of crazytube.com

When you let someone into your home, you let them into your life. And when that person is in your life, he or she has control and power over other things in your life. Let’s say your toothbrush, for example. If I were your maid and you keep on intimidating and humiliating me, I could make your toothbrush dive from the mug to the toilet bowl and explore its every corner, and you wouldn’t even know where it’s been. Revenge is sweet.

4. Never mess with your teacher.

Teachers are powerful individuals. From pre-school to graduate levels, teachers or professors have the full control over your grades. If you’re not nice to them or if they just don’t like you, they will find a way to pull your grades down. They have the upper-hand.

Even if you have aced all the exams, there’s always a reason why you never get that spectacular grade you’ve been reaching for — like Recitation. It’s subjective, you know.

Or, they may not touch your grades but they can touch other students’ — especially if they are related to your teacher. Say, for example, your closest rival for the Valedictorian title is your English teacher’s niece and no matter how many times you top the exams, you always come second to that niece. Blame recitation!

(I’m sorry if this part sounds like written from experience. Haha.)

3. Never mess with your boss.

Not because he will fire you. Not just because he will fire you.

I mean, even if you don’t give a damn if you get terminated or not, you should always turn the better shoulder to your boss. Why? Because what he or she has to say matters to your future employers!

Even if you had the nicest boss in the world, if he/she abhorred you for your lousy job or your horrible attitude, s/he WILL tell the HR Department of the company you will soon apply for a position in when they call your boss for reference or background check.

What more if your boss hailed from a little province called hell?

2. Never mess with your neighbors.

Love thy neighbors, they say. And for a good reason. Your neighbors are the closest to your home and chances are, they know a tiny bit about what’s going on inside of it. Ever wondered why even the slightest skirmish you and your partner have is known to the whole neighborhood? Or why the news that your altar boy son eloped with the parish priest spread so quickly? Bet your pinky, it’s your neighbors!

That’s why we need to be nice to them… So that they would call the police when they noticed someone breaking into your house while you were out.

Also, so that they would NOT call the police if you are constructing a gazebo without a building permit or if you are growing cannabis in your back yard.

1. Never mess with your ex!

Yes, your ex. You bet, your ex knows so much about you. Too much about you. A bad break-up is common but never add insult to injury. Never add salt to the wound. Do that and you just got yourself a bitter psycho-ex who is out to destroy you.

Soon, his or her friends and even your friends will be talking about that STD you had even if you never had any. Or your fascination to bestial porn. Or the fact that you referred to your best friend as “that ugly skunk who should stop wondering why she never had a boyfriend because the answer is her face.” Or that you forged your doctor’s signature just to get your ass into the university you prefer.

And the list goes on…

…

Being polite and respectful is something that should not be forced. But we all need to treat everyone in the kindest possible way. Arrogance will get us nowhere. It always pays to be kind even when they don’t deserve it. After all, we have no idea what each of us is capable of.

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