Signs are beyond confusing, tickets are expensive, and meter maids are prompt as all hell.

So, of course, one day I'm running late to an audition, so I just park on a street without solving the riddle of the sign and I just run inside.

When I got back to my car, there was this, like, old man in the process of writing me a ticket, and just out of pure habit, when he handed it to me, I said thank you and he immediately broke down crying.

No one's ever thanked me before.

Oh.

People are always so angry to see me, you know?

I've been cursed at, had stuff thrown at me. One guy tried to punch me.

I'm just doing my job, you know?

Oh, I'm sorry, but it's ok. I mean honestly, it's my fault for not reading the signs.

EXACTLY! It's not like I wanna give everyone tickets. It's so hard having a job where everyone hates you.

*Man continues to cry while the valiant Anna consoles him*

But it did get me thinking because, yeah, everyone in Los Angeles and I'm sure other big cities hate returning their car and seeing a meter maid.

And knowing that a ticket is upwards of like 50 bucks here, I'm sure people start freaking out because they're financially strapped or upset at themselves.

And I started to wonder about all the other people who work jobs that we have a negative association with, like people at the DMV or tax auditors.

How does that make you feel?

Flash from Zootopia: Sad.

It's not my fault that the DMV is so slow.

For real though, I love that sloth scene from Zootopia. So I had to work it in.

But anyway, I found that I have more compassion for people doing tough work, and that I should really start taking more responsibility for myself and my choices like it's not a meter maids fault if I don't read the signs or fill out my parking meter on time.

And it's not a tax auditors fault if anyone chooses to lie on their taxes or be really lazy and filling them out.

So I encourage you when you encounter someone who can't get your order right or who pulls you over or who's just an animated sloth?

Have empathy, practice accountability if it is your fault, and know that we're all just doing the best that we can.

Now whenever I feel frustrated with bad service, I try to imagine that older gentleman crying and think,

you know what? Maybe this waiter just had a fight with his father, and maybe that salesperson was just left by their wife and now is trying to figure out how to support their kids on one salary.

I remember when I worked at Gamestop in my teens, one time I went to the back room to cry because my sister had died only a few months earlier and I returned to work 'cuz I really wanted the distraction, but I mean it was tough.

My coworker came into the back room to kind of comfort me and this lady just barged in and screamed at us for being horrible customer service reps and that she'd been waiting to check out for like five minutes.

And I was like, hey ma'am, I'm so sorry.

I recently lost a family member, and instead she was just like you're a liar and you're probably having sex with your co-worker in the backroom.

And I'll never forget how I felt in that moment.

I was so dumb struck that anyone could be that callous over waiting five freaking minutes to buy a video game, like, come on lady. We're all gonna die.

I mean, do you really need to have that kind of attitude before we do?

So yeah, I guess another lesson of this video would be that everyone needs to work (in) food service or retail to figure out how to be a better human being.

I'm Anna Akana.

Stay right here for an animated sponsored message from the wonderful Bethany Radloff (Animator).

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