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Pop Culture

Gen Z, Gen X and millennials share their 'boomer' complaints, proving old folks can be right

We all have an inner boomer that comes out from time to time.

via Tim Doefler/Unsplash

Boomers weren't wrong about everything.

Baby boomers (people born between 1946 and 1964) have been taking a lot of heat over the past few years from younger generations who think that their me-first mentality helped create a world where the climate is getting warmer, the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and people born in the ‘40s and ‘50s still rule the modern workplace.

Boomers are also super frustrating because many can’t figure out modern technology, and the younger folks have to explain it until they are blue in the face.

Of course, these are all generational stereotypes that many baby boomers would reject. But they will probably stand up and cheer when they read a list of tweets inspired by X user @FvreignLL, who asked, “What is the most boomer complaint you have?” The post was embraced by younger people and received over 123 million views.


Even though boomers are in the hot seat these days, just about everyone can agree that they’re right about many things that get under younger people’s skin, too. One of the recurring themes of the post was that people can’t stand the fact that we are overly dependent on technology, and often, instead of making things more accessible, it makes them more frustrating.

Here are 15 of the best ‘boomer complaints’ that younger people have, too.

People had a lot of thoughts on the state of customer service in 2024.



They also can’t stand the idea that technology has complicated things unnecessarily.



Technology has also made people super annoying. What's the point in paying $13 for a movie and scrolling through your phone in the theater the whole time?



We’ve also created a world that isn’t exactly kid-friendly.



And, what happened to adults?



Whatever happened to paying for something once and then owning it? Or being able to own physical media so that you don’t have to pay every time you watch your favorite movie?



Also, when did we all decide that almost every chip has to be kettle-cooked and made for people with cobalt teeth? Enjoying a snack shouldn't result in a $5,000 dental bill.



Remember when coffee was a quarter? Boomers do. These days, it's common to spend $6 or $7 on a cup of Joe.



Most importantly, young people also have a real problem with you standing on their finely manicured lawn.



This rundown shouldn't just lead one to believe that boomers are the cranky generation. When their time comes, Gen Xers, millennials and Gen Z will be right behind them, complaining about "kids these days" and why things were so much better "in my day." But hopefully, they'll be a bit better at using technology.

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Joy

Southwest Airlines babysits a passenger's betta fish for months after she couldn't fly with it

Now that's customer service.

via Pixabay

A beautiful betta fish.

It was a wild summer at U.S. airports where there were more cancellations and delays than usual due to spiking demand after the pandemic, understaffed airlines and severe storms. But a story from Tampa International Airport in Florida shows that amid the chaos, there was a brief glimmer of humanity.

News Channel 8 in Florida reports that after finishing her freshman year at college, Kira Rumfola was ready to return home to New York for the summer when she ran into a problem at Tampa International Airport. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to bring her pet betta fish, Theo, with her on a Southwest flight home.

“As a recent addition to Kira’s life, Theo is very special to her, having provided comfort and companionship as she adjusted to college life,” Southwest wrote in a Facebook post.

It’s against Southwest policy to allow fish on its flights.

“Ismael, our Customer Service Agent, talked Kira and her father through multiple options,” Southwest wrote on Facebook. “When nothing worked out, Ismael offered to take care of Theo himself while Kira was home for the summer.”

Kira swore she'd be back in the fall for the next school session and would pick up her fish when she returned to Florida.

According to a Southwest Twitter post, Kira stayed in touch with Ismael and Jamee, his fiance and fellow Southwest employee, all summer. The couple regularly shared photos of Theo with Kira and they even bought him a larger fish bowl.

On September 15, Southwest shared a photo of Kira, Ismael and Jamee when they met up to reunite the student and her fish. Kira gave the couple a gift card as a thank-you. “Thank you again for the gift card, it was completely unnecessary,” Jamee wrote in a text shared by Southwest. “We hope you guys got back to your dorm ok. Let us know if you need anything.”

Theo lived with Ismael and Jamee for the entire summer—they had to be a bit teary-eyed to see him go.

The story struck a chord with people on Facebook, who thought it was an amazing show of customer service and humanity.

“That definitely shows going over and above. There is still kindness in our world!" Shelly Tibbs Eber Caulfield wrote.

"Ismael deserves a promotion! He's clearly shown he's willing to do any-fin possible to help a customer," Kristen Calvert wrote.

Matt Pope wins best joke. "That’s the greatest fish story featuring a guy named Ismael since that book by Melville," he wrote, making a reference to “Moby Dick."

Everyone appreciates a great story about someone going above and beyond in their job to help a customer. But what Ismael and Jamee did went far beyond customer service. They showed up as human beings to help a stranger take care of a beloved family member when they had run out of options. Now, that’s a great example of humanity at its best.

The only remaining question is, what will Kira do with Theo next summer?









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Culture

Man gets his cable bill reduced by serenading customer service with a catchy song

Do you know that guy who has never had an issue with his TV/internet provider? Neither do I. If you claim you have never had issues with your bill going up without warning, then you are either lying or you own the cable company. Jake Lawson apparently does not own a cable company, and was prepared to communicate his frustrations regarding his bill in a most creative way.

First off, Jake understands what everyone should realize. The customer service representative doesn't own the cable company either, so yelling at someone who is just trying to make a living like all of us is not the answer. Their job is hard enough as it is so give them a break. Jake gave them more than a break. He gave them a song.




This video shows Jake calling AT&T and calmly questioning his rate increase. Anticipating that he was not going to get the answer he was looking for right off the bat, he came prepared. He asked if he could share a song he wrote about his thoughts on the matter. I must commend Jake on not phoning it in on the chord progression (excellent use of major to minor on the third and fourth chords in what I would have to deem as the verse). He starts off singing "This morning I woke up to an email, from AT&T that was bothering me." He continues, "This happens every 12 months without fail, so I called up customer loyalty." He goes on to sing that he is going to switch companies if he doesn't get his old rate back. And Rebecca from AT&T made it happen.

The moral of the story is not that you need to write a song to get what you want, but as Jake will tell you, yelling and screaming isn't the answer either. Just recently I was talked into bundling cable with my internet. They promised me I would get my same rate back if I didn't want to keep the cable TV service. I called up to cancel two weeks later, and lo and behold my internet bill was $7 higher than it was just two weeks ago. I played the "I know you personally didn't raise my rate, but I am sure you can understand how could feel a little wonky if you were in my shoes" card. I got my old rate back, although with not nearly the style that Jake flashed.

Customer service representatives can go above and beyond, too. Once I called up my TV provider to find out if the bouncing logo in the screen saver ever hits the bottom right corner. I kid you not, she put me on hold while she spent five minutes trying to find an answer for me. She came back on the line to inform me that while the logo has been known to hit the top right and left corners, she had no knowledge of it hitting either bottom corner, though it was unclear as to whether it was possible.

Jake, I tip my hat to you for spreading cheer even in times of frustration, and for popping out a pretty snappy tune. As for the logo in the screen saver, don't ask me how I know it hits every corner (even bottom left) except for bottom right. And if you say you saw it happen, you are probably the same guy who says they called the Keyser Soze moment in the movie The Usual Suspects.

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A man was holding up the line counting his change. The cashier's response is going viral.

Spring Bowlin was doing a little shopping on her lunch break when she saw something that might make even the most patient of us groan.

As she got in line to check out, Bowlin recalled in a Facebook post, the older gentleman in front of her pulled a handful of change from his pocket to pay for his items and began to slowly ... count ... the ... coins.

Visibly flustered by the line growing behind him, full of potentially impatient shoppers, the man fumbled the change, lost count, and had to start again, according to Bowlin. The man only grew embarrassed and more frantic.

If you're imagining an aggravated cashier pointedly drumming her fingers waiting for the man to finish, well ... you'd be wrong.

Bowlin, watching from her place in line, praised the "beautiful cashier" who stepped in to put the man at ease.

"This beautiful cashier takes his hands and dumps all the change on the counter and says, 'This is not a problem, honey. We will do this together.'"

The man was incredibly apologetic to the cashier and Bowlin, who waited patiently for him to finish his transaction, reassuring him that it was no bother at all. When Bowlin stepped up to the counter herself, she thanked the cashier for being so patient with the man.

It's no wonder Bowlin's post has since racked up thousands of shares and comments from people moved by such a simple act of kindness:

My heart was warmed at Wal-Mart during lunch.This gentleman's items were scanned and he was given the total. He looks...

Posted by Spring Herbison Bowlin on Thursday, November 9, 2017

Studies have made it clear: Being in a hurry really hurts our ability to empathize with or feel compassion for others.

Raise your hand if you've ever been irritated by a traffic jam caused by a car crash in which someone might have been hurt or if you've ever grown frustrated as the person in front of you in line at the grocery store pulled out a wad of coupons (or a pocketful of change).

It's simple human nature, but experts encourage putting a little effort and mindfulness into paying attention to when being in a rush may be clouding our judgment.

The overwhelming response to Bowlin's post proves that compassion matters and can make a big difference, even in small doses.

As the cashier told Bowlin, "What's wrong with our world is we've forgotten how to love one another."

Now that's a message worth spreading far and wide.

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