People Who've Worked In Customer Service Almost Always Have 11 Distinct Traits That Are Highly Rare Today
Inside Creative House | ShutterstockWhile many service workers forced to suppress emotions and deal with entitled customers are subjected to all kinds of mental health concerns, according to a study from Industrial Health, the discomfort, social challenges, and situations they face daily prompt a kind of resilience that others lack. People who’ve worked in customer service almost always have certain distinct traits like this one that are highly rare today.
From a boosted sense of empathy to a comfort level with hard conversations others avoid, their work experience often directly translates into a personality that sets them up for success in their personal lives.
People who’ve worked in customer service almost always have 11 distinct traits that are highly rare today
1. They’re calm amid chaos
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If you’ve ever been a server or worked in customer service, chances are you know how to find inner peace and calm even when everything around you feels chaotic. From dealing with the noise to entitled customers, your sense of calm is what bridges the gap and creates a better environment and experience for everyone.
It’s a rare skill, especially in a culture where many people amplify tension and stress in conversations by completely avoiding them or acting defensively, to be able to lean into hard conversations with people who aren’t always offering respect. Whether these people learn to set their boundaries or regulate their emotions, their personal lives, interactions, and relationships benefit from their experiences at work.
2. They’re patient
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Many entitled, emotionally unregulated people use service workers as “scapegoats” for their stress and inner turmoil, according to psychology professor Melanie Morrison. So, it’s not surprising that service workers often have to embody a level of patience that the average person simply can’t fathom in our world of constant stimulation and neediness.
To get paid and do their job, they’re often forced to accommodate people who refuse to respect them, or who use them as a way to get their anger and stress out. While they deserve boundaries and respect, dealing with these people allows them to keep their cool and be patient with people in their personal lives.
3. They read people’s body language well
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When someone needs something across a restaurant, service workers learn to pick up on their body language. When someone sits down at a table and immediately has bad energy, they notice that too. Because nonverbal cues are often an even more important tool to communicate than words, it’s not surprising that they learn to pick up on them early and often.
When they’re out in the world or having conversations with loved ones at home, that same kind of intuitive social energy helps them to read the room before anyone says anything.
4. They anticipate problems early
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Considering people who have worked in customer service often had to think ahead and anticipate problems before they happened, it’s not surprising that they have the skill of future-forward thinking. It’s part of what makes them so intelligent, according to a study from the University of Bath, as the smartest people often have a better, more accurate sense of the future while making decisions and predictions.
Whether it’s anticipating a customer’s needs or crafting sensible goals for their future, they’re far more accurate with deciding what’s coming than the average person who struggles to get out of the present or past.
5. They’re emotionally regulated
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People who’ve worked in customer service or other service industries often have a level of internal patience and resilience that’s cultivated by emotional regulation. They’ve had to deal with bad customers and entitled people more than the average person does, and defensiveness or anger rarely works in their favor.
These emotional regulation skills are a superpower in a world of people who expect their problems and emotions to be solved by others. It’s this emotional intelligence that truly adds value to their lives and protects their well-being, according to a 2024 study, even when they’re not at work.
6. They’re very aware of their surroundings
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Considering service workers are often expected to be constantly “on,” it’s not surprising that they often have a kind of social awareness that others lack. They can read a room, but they’re also incredibly observant of their surroundings all the time, whether they’re at work or not.
They’re never too caught up in their phones or other distractions to read people’s body language and sense the energy, especially when it’s to protect their health, safety, or well-being.
7. They’re incredibly kind to service workers now
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We often empathize with people we understand because it comes naturally. We can easily put ourselves in their shoes and connect with their experience. The people who’ve been through the same trauma, understand our experiences, and resonate with our issues are the people we connect with the most.
So, it’s not a surprise that ex-service workers often treat other workers with more respect than the average person. They understand the struggles, especially with entitled, mean customers, and they refuse to add one more bad interaction to their plate.
8. They think quickly on their feet
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Under pressure, it’s often service workers who think critically and quickly on their feet. Whether it’s solving problems or helping a customer have a better experience in the face of disappointment, they’re trained to solve issues and create solutions, even if they only have a few fleeting moments to do it.
In their lives outside of work, that same “hustle” and fast-paced thinking mentality follows them into every aspect of their routine. While they could certainly use a reminder to slow down every once in a while, for the most part, this critical thinking mentality serves their intelligence and competency in many ways.
9. They have thick skin
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According to a study from Social Psychological and Personality Science, people with “thick skin” and a social self-assuredness often have a buffer against the pains of social rejection or ostracism that other people quickly fall off track by. They’re used to dealing with disrespectful people and having to set their boundaries, and despite their resilience emotionally, they never lose their empathy.
There’s something about working with and around people, especially in a customer service setting, that requires empathy to have good days. However, with their thick skin in the face of people who don’t appreciate it, they craft a balance of emotional security that others lack.
10. They know how to apologize
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Most people feel a natural tendency to defend themselves when they make a mistake or do something wrong. Especially if they believe they’re in the “right,” they’ll rarely apologize or mend things to protect their own ego. However, for service workers who are regularly blamed for things that aren’t their fault, whether it’s incorrect food or cleanliness, they are used to apologizing to make peace.
While it’s not always the right choice to apologize to protect the peace, seeking forgiveness for a sense of internal security keeps people regulated and aware without needing to get angry in defense of their innocence.
11. They clean up after themselves
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After watching shift after shift of customers leaving behind messes and refusing to pick up after themselves, making excuses like “it’s their job” to feel better, it’s not surprising that servers and other customer service workers are far more conscious of their messes now.
Whether they’re in a public space or changing in a dressing room in a store, they’re always cleaning up their messes and leaving places better than they found them. Even if it’s just to make a worker’s day a little bit easier, they’re not afraid to spend the extra time doing it.
Zayda Slabbekoorn is a senior editorial strategist with a bachelor’s degree in social relations & policy and gender studies who focuses on psychology, relationships, self-help, and human interest stories.
