I think I've finally pinpointed what it is that I so dislike about my current job: it makes me everything I try so hard not to be. Did that sentence make ANY sense?
For one, it makes me fake and phony. I'm supposed to make fast friends with everyone who walks through the door, regardless of how they treat me. Anywhere outside of work, I would not take orders or waste time on someone who acted like I was a robot built to cater to their every whim. But once I'm inside that store, that's exactly what I'm being paid (I use "paid" very loosely) to do. And I'd sure as hell better do it with a smile, too. Which is difficult because a) I can't smile knowing that I'm playing the part of Cheesy Salesperson and b) I'm already predisposed to dislike these people because they are spending around $100 on a pair of shoes. I mean...really? The ONLY reason I have a pair of my store's shoes is because I got them for free. No way could I afford them normally.
It also makes me grumpy by extension. Dealing with the rude dumbasses all day (note: some customers are very nice and respectful, and I appreciate those ones) puts me in such a bad mood. "I have Plantar Fasciitis, so the ball of my foot hurts." "No. That is not Plantar Fasciitis, you twit." I don't expect everyone to know what PF is, but I DO expect the people who claim to have to know what it is and to have been diagnosed by a doctor rather than going, "My foot hurts. Must be that problem I've heard about on TV!" That's like thinking you have lung cancer because you coughed. Take a minute to do some research so you don't waste my time here. Like Pink says, I was fine before you walked into my life. Store, rather.
My biggest problem is the bit about being fake. I have to act like nothing makes me happier than getting these people a zillion pairs of shoes while they take a year to make up their damn mind. And it's amazing how simple it is to make it better. A "thank you" or an "I appreciate you bringing all these" does so much to let me know you don't think I was created for the sole purpose of serving you. Hey, I'm a human being. Imagine that! I always love when people start ragging on me for a problem they had with an order or something and I want to yell, "HEY. Did you maybe consider asking if I'm the person who can help you with that? Maybe checking to see if I handled the order and am therefore to blame? No. You stormed right in here, expecting me to drop everything for you and help you with a problem that had nothing to do with me. The best way I can help you is to find someone who can actually resolve the situation." It would be SO easy to walk up and say, "Hi, I have a question. *briefly describe problem* Are you the right person to talk to about that?" Because when they go on a tirade to me and then I finally get a word in to tell them I need to go get a full-timer's assistance, they get pissed and feel like their time is being wasted. It's all about prevention, people.
Speaking of tirades, I'll end mine here. Happy post tomorrow.
I'm not here for your entertainment / You don't really wanna mess with me tonight / Just stop and take a second / I was fine before you walked into my life. -U + Ur Hand, P!nk
*Trollface* Indent much?
ReplyDeleteI totally feel ya about retail. It just seemed impossible to have a day without some asshole coming to ruin it somehow. I always was so appreciative of the really nice customers. You have to be friendly to everyone, but there are ways to be friendlier. Customers who treated me with respect got the friendlier treatment =)
Haha definitely. I can feel myself relax and act like a normal person around the respectful ones.
ReplyDeleteAs for the indenting, I used to hit Tab and it would only indent a space and it drove me crazy because my posts looked like a wall of words. So I hit it twice and that seemed to solve it. So now Blogspot decided to fix things and I end up looking ridiculous. FUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-