I went through the drive-through at Wendy's tonight to grab a baked potato and a frosty. When I got up to the window, the girl gave me a rote, "How are you tonight?" I responded with, "Not too bad. How about you?" I got back nothing but a blank stare. Not a "pretty good, " or an, "okay." Not even a shrug or a smirk. She made it completely obvious that she did not, in fact, care how I was. The same thing happened to me at Burger King recently. That time, the cashier didn't even give me a courtesy "how are you?" She just stood there and let me do all the talking without even saying so much as, "may I take your order" or "thank you." And you know what? That really pisses me off.
Honestly, few things irk me more than a lack of friendliness from people in the retail and service industries. To me, that's such a basic part of the job that ignoring it is just as bad, if not worse, than getting my order wrong or over-charging me. And it's the easiest part of the job by far. I don't care how much you hate being at your job. I don't care how little you're getting paid. If you can't put on a fake smile and pretend to have some sort of basic people skills for a few hours a day, then you don't need to be in the work force. My job at Toys [backwards]R Us gets tedious or stressful some days and there are times when it's the last place I want to be, but one thing I've never failed to do is smile and greet the customer and thank them for their purchase. I may seem unimportant, but it's not. Think about it. How much better do you feel about a store when you have a real conversation with an employee or share a joke with the cashier? It makes you want to go back. And more than that, it makes you feel good for at least a brief moment of your day. I'm not claiming to have talked people off of ledges or saved wives and children from abuse. All I'm saying is that as long as I'm collecting a paycheck, I'm going to do my job to the best of my ability. And part of that means being friendly and personable even on days when I don't feel like it. Even when I'm not on the clock, I still smile and attempt to be friendly with people. It's part of who I am, not something I have to think about, and I can't understand why some people find it so difficult.
I think it's sweet that you have a heart for customer service, and I agree that it would be nice if more service workers were pleasant and hospitable. But my experience has been that working with the public is a drag.
ReplyDeleteI did customer service for a student apartment complex prior to my current job, and "the public" zapped every bit of hospitality out of me. They complain all the time, they whine, they're unreasonable, they want everything to go their way, they don't like to admit when it's their fault, and I could go on and on. I'm not saying all customers are like that, but a lot are, and when you've spent all day dealing with them, it's hard to be overly pleasant to even the decent ones. That's why in my current job I'm a big fan of 2 things - receptionists and voicemail - so that I can deal with the public on my own terms :)
RIGHT!
ReplyDeleteYou're definitely write that customers can be jerks sometimes. But if you don't like the job and can't handle it, then find a new one (as you obviously did). I've been at Toys R Us at 6 AM on black Friday for the past two years with lines out the door and all sorts of iritated and iritating customers, so I don't really have any sympathy for anybody else. If you don't like the people, then fake it. If you can't fake it, then work somewhere else.
ReplyDeleteThere do seem to be a lot of people in jobs where they interact with the public who don't know a thing about customer relations. There are some people who just don't do well working with the general public (I think I'd be in this category). But, it does amaze me when a cashier acts like I'm inconviencing him/her to purchase something. Really ticks me off.
ReplyDeletehaha I want to see James R. Orr behind the cash register!
ReplyDeleteIf a customer was rude, he'd say, "Excuse me ma'am, but do you know Christ?" haha. Good witnessing tool, Jamie - you should think about this as a part-time job ;) (and yes I realize I'm talking to you via somebody else's blog that I'm assuming you'll read)
ReplyDeleteI have to add another customer service frustration from today. I was checking out at the customer service desk at a grocery store and the cashier seemed bothered that she had to interrupt her telephone conversation to wait on me. As soon as she answered my question (while checking me out), she resumed her phone conversation- didn't seem to be a work call. That really drives me nuts- I am buying something and the cashier acting as if I'm causing them inconvenience.
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