April 07, 2017

195: Stop Treating Service Workers Like Servants

In today’s episode, Steli and Hiten talk about the growing tech divide in Silicon Valley and the negative treatment of those in technology towards those who are not. Steli and Hiten are worried and saddened by the aggression shown by tech people towards those in the service industry. Listen as Steli and Hiten share their concerns with those who engage in such negative attitudes and behaviors and how being aware of one’s self and one’s privilege can turn these attitudes around.

Time Stamped Show Notes:

00:08 – Today’s episode is about the growing tech divide in Silicon Valley

00:43 – When it comes to technology, Steli has been an optimist, but has observed the differences between people who are in technology and those who are not

01:21 – Steli has seen people get aggressive with their Uber drivers

02:23 – Steli has also seen people treat Door Dash delivery people poorly

03:10 – Steli is worried and concerned about how people treat those who provide services to them

04:12 – Hiten is saddened by this because he believes nobody has the right to talk down to another human being

05:03 – Hiten says people should be thankful for the services they receive, because receiving a service means they don’t have to do it themselves

05:27 – Steli shares Louis C.K.’s storyline of how people always complain

06:23 – Those who are not successful are often judged and blamed by others

07:04 – Those who blame these people live in their own world and become less human

07:24 – Hiten believes people should take responsibility for their rotten thoughts and evaluate how these thoughts impact their lives

08:06 – A lot of people in tech today do not appreciate the privileges they have

09:14 – Hiten says he thinks things will get worse, before it gets better

09:26 – The aggressiveness towards others is socially accepted because it has become the norm – from the leadership of our country to the leadership of companies

10:05 – Think of how bad you feel when someone is aggressive towards you

10:34 – Remember when you made a mistake at work and somebody thought you were the biggest idiot?

10:46 – We need to remind ourselves of how much we have, how lucky we are, and how being kind can make all the difference

11:08 – This topic should be talked about more in the tech industry

11:27 – End of today’s episode

3 Key Points:

People working in technology tend to treat others who are providing them services poorly.

Those who judge other people for being less successful than they are do not realize their own privilege.

Always remind yourself of how much you have and don’t overestimate the power of just being kind.

Steli: Hey everybody, this is Steli Efti.

Hiten: This is Hiten Shah. Today on the Start Up Chat, we're going to take on the topic that I think Steliand I both notice things about. What it is, is basically this growing tech divide in the bay area and Silicon Valley and even other cities that have a lot of tech and also a lot of non-tech people doing things in the city regularly. Steli, you want to kick it off with a story or two?

Steli: Yeah. In general, I think I've been always ... I'm an optimist when it comes to technology and the direction that the world is going into, but over the last ten years I've noticed a trend. I stumble over a lot more examples recently. I'm starting to think about this a lot more and slightly worry about it a little bit. I experience an erosion of empathy when it comes to people that are in the technology field and are doing really well in their life and the people that are servicing those people that aren't. I'll give an example. One thing that I see again and again is, people getting really, really mad/aggressive/ I don't want to use the word inhumane, but I don't know,

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By Steli Efti & Hiten Shah: Serial Entrepreneurs, Sales & Marketing Experts, Startup Investors & Advisors, CEOs running multi million dollar SaaS Startups

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