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whiskyinmind
whiskyinmind
15 September 2004 @ 02:22 pm
Wow that was fun!  
I'd forgotten quite how much I missed front of house customer service type work until today - which might surprise those of you who've known me for a while, I'm a really shy person normally and I really hate meeting new people.

So why do I love customer service? I really don't know, I used to work on the complaints desk in a cheap-as-anything clothes shop (C&A!) and that was hard work, dealing with irate people every minute of the day, having to talk people down from their anger at not getting a refund for the £3 shirt they've obviously worn to death and all the while not losing your cool.

I loved it. And I was damned good at it. I miss it.

Today I was not in the slightest bit fazed at wearing the t-shirt, I wasn't in the slightest bit perturbed at the fact that we had "Suck it and see!" posters all over our stall when the very next stall to us was the Gay & Lesbian Society who were giving away condoms, I *monopolised* on that! One of the girls on that stall and I did a two-part harmony of the Star Trek theme to get people to come to our stalls! I was the one who was on my feet shouting out "Hi there!" to everyone and anyone who walked past, I was the one forcing people to take leaflets by shouting out "Free Stuff!" (we had pens and lollipops to give away).

You're not buying the "I'm shy" line now are you?

*g*
 
 
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[identity profile] ludditerobot.livejournal.com on September 15th, 2004 06:44 am (UTC)
About the shy
I used to be front register guy at a Wendy's, and I used to table-sit for campus political groups and for voter registration and even did calling for a candidate. I'm shy, honest, but that sort of situation is different because you're putting on an act and running off a script, whether it's a real script (like with the calling) or one mentally cobbled together. You're not really putting yourself up, so it's an end-run around shyness.
[identity profile] whiskyinmind.livejournal.com on September 16th, 2004 12:39 am (UTC)
Re: About the shy
I think you've got a good point there, what we do in a customer service role only matters for the time we're with that person. Whether that's 30 seconds or three days. You're not really yourself at that point, you're acting as an intermediary for the company you work for, the candidate you're representing or whatever. So the script thing comes into play because even though you're saying words that you yourself have come up with, you're actually speaking for someone else. It's not personal, so it doesn't matter so much.

Oh I sound like a good little corporate slave, my dad the Marxist would be so proud...
[identity profile] rileysaplank.livejournal.com on September 15th, 2004 10:00 am (UTC)
No, don't believe you. You're not shy. I've had to deal with customers all my working life (working in shops then working in a bookies, now working in a shop again), yet I'm probably one of the shiest(sp?) people I know. I find it very hard to make new friends. In fact since I moved back up home after Uni six years ago, the only friends I've made have been through work or over the internet.

Andy
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