> not griping about low wages

True. But feeling properly valued, and empowered to take appropriate action in response to the customers you are serving (which also necessitates proper investment in training by the company) all count for just as much, imho.

OK, most of the terms suggested in FS's story don't merit much more than a smile - but yours and oftroy's stories are dramatic (yet entirely typical) examples of what happens when companies don't respect their employees. And the savvy customers quite rightly draw the message that the company therefore does not respect them either...!

So people feeling important in their job is maybe not something to sneer at too lightly. Doesn't mean you are pretending to be a heart surgeon.