Surely the definition of a 'dead end job' is one that doesn't offer any form of career progression, isn't it?
So if you're working in a retail position, say stacking shelves or on a checkout desk, where there's no way forward to a supervisory or managerial position, then (by the very definition of the term itself) you most certainly are in a dead end job. That's not a denigratory statement, it's simply a factual one.
However someone doing exactly the same job with a different company might be offered the chance to become a supervisor and, perhaps, from there to move on to management training. So that person isn't in a dead end job.
I've never understood why anyone should expect to be paid more for doing a job at night, on a Sunday or on a bank holiday. It's the same job, so it should be the same pay. (I've worked on Christmas Day in a pub on several occasions, always just for the regular rate of pay).
By the very nature of their job, anyone working in a 'customer service' role is bound to encounter dissatisfied customers from time, who may well have every reason to be irate. So, as I see it, handling a bit of abuse now and then is simply all part of the job. (When I ran a railway station, I was sworn at almost every day and occasionally physically threatened too. I was never bothered by it and I fail to see why others should be bothered by it either).