I agree with the professions that people have already said - waiter/waitress, garbage collector, mailmen, nurses...
I also think that call centre workers are overlooked for respect. Because their job involved having a script/set procedure, it doesn't need a specialist skill. People associate call centre workers with the annoying person on the other end of the phone who doesn't know the answer to your query and puts you on hold for ages. But on the other hand, call centre workers (in 24-hour centres) have to work shifts, they have to sit down throughout their work, they are not allowed to take a proper time to interact with their customers because they have targets of how many calls they need to take, and they have to deal with people giving them crap down the phone. I've known people who work in call centres who even get people phoning up because they want to talk to someone, hear someone's voice, and they end up having to play the counsellor! So yeah - it's not a physically demanding job in the traditional sense, but actually it can be pretty demanding on your body in a different kind of way to sit down all day (it makes me feel really ill when I have to do it T_T), and although they don't have specialised skills, call centre workers are really put down all the time, people think they are the lowest of the low when they are aiming to help, and people always remember the occasion they got below-par service rather than the times someone was nice.
I definitely agree about service staff. I know someone who owns a restaurant - owns, not waiters - and he worries a lot about the business and hasn't had a holiday for 7 years.
I also think that call centre workers are overlooked for respect. Because their job involved having a script/set procedure, it doesn't need a specialist skill. People associate call centre workers with the annoying person on the other end of the phone who doesn't know the answer to your query and puts you on hold for ages. But on the other hand, call centre workers (in 24-hour centres) have to work shifts, they have to sit down throughout their work, they are not allowed to take a proper time to interact with their customers because they have targets of how many calls they need to take, and they have to deal with people giving them crap down the phone. I've known people who work in call centres who even get people phoning up because they want to talk to someone, hear someone's voice, and they end up having to play the counsellor! So yeah - it's not a physically demanding job in the traditional sense, but actually it can be pretty demanding on your body in a different kind of way to sit down all day (it makes me feel really ill when I have to do it T_T), and although they don't have specialised skills, call centre workers are really put down all the time, people think they are the lowest of the low when they are aiming to help, and people always remember the occasion they got below-par service rather than the times someone was nice.
I definitely agree about service staff. I know someone who owns a restaurant - owns, not waiters - and he worries a lot about the business and hasn't had a holiday for 7 years.