5 of the UK's most underappreciated jobs

4. Retail assistants and waiting staff

Here’s something we all know deep down, and we’re all trying to pretend otherwise: the customer isn’t always right. Sometimes, the customer is rude. Sometimes, the customer is abusive or cruel, impatient or unfair. And more often than not, an employee in a customer-facing role is simply forced to grin and bear it.

All too often, we take waiting staff and retail assistants for granted. We forget that they spend hours on their feet, in uncomfortable clothing, handling a heavy workload and dealing with complicated customer demands. Not only do we require a high standard from these individuals, but we also demand they do it with a smile on their face. All too often, members of the public forget that these employees are human beings, not robots.