[cafard]

Weird. I worked for a couple of department stores before I was 20, not as a sales clerk, but stocking shelves. I don't remember the sales staff as the sorts who would snub customers. Of course, I wasn't treating them as lab rats in a high school psych course.

I will also point out that retail sales staff get a lot more exposure to anyone and everyone than your average hacker does. One can become jaded and perhaps impatient fairly quickly. Should you? No, maybe not. But it's Friday, your feet hurt, and some kid is social engineering you. Do you feel as if you need that?

[girvo]

I've worked as a salesperson since I was 17 (I'm 22 now), on and off. Pays the bills, you see. And you're 100% right about the amount of exposure you get to every day people, however instead of making me jaded, I believe it's made my life as a developer easier; it gave me insights into regular people I think I would have otherwise missed.

And gave me a neat startup idea I'm working on ;)