While working as a cashier, there is nothing more evident than a rude and entitled patron who has clearly never had a job in any form of customer service or earned an hourly wage. While many people leave customer service jobs after high school and college, many others stay in the field throughout their working career. Additionally, even after leaving the field, one never ceases to interact with these types of workers in their daily life, and there is nothing more obvious than someone who has never learned how to respectfully treat the people servicing them. Especially in relatively affluent areas where many students do not necessarily have to work, like Alpharetta and Johns' Creek, I think it is imperative that teenagers/young adults have at least some experience working in customer service before they graduate; it'll prove beneficial in more ways than one.

1. You learn to budget and save money before it becomes imminent.

2. You learn patience...lots and lots of patience.

3. You learn indispensable social skills, with customers, co-employees and superiors.

4. You meet (and are forced to deal with) an array of different people.

5. You understand how people deserve to be treated, after being treated less than fairly yourself.

6. You understand the nature of the workplace from a different perspective.

7. You learn how to problem-solve and lead in compromise rather quickly and on-the-spot.

8. You are exposed to the plight of the worker before being thrown into full-time employment.

9. You catch onto what rhetoric is well-received in the workplace... and what isn't.

10. You learn the basic responsibility and time management that comes with employment.

11. You'll have your feet wet being the interviewee and going through the application process.

12. You learn how to take initiative in the workplace, and how to create a reputation as a reliable and "stand-out" employee.

13. You learn how to be assertive while maintaining a professional attitude.

14. You'll learn the importance of first impressions, and how to present yourself initially appearing to desired employers.

15. You'll learn to have sympathy and appreciation for the next guy who waits your table, or bags your groceries.

16. Breadth of experience shapes depth of character.