I think I've worked for approximately one month now, and things have definitely gotten easier with time.
Unlike my lectures or laboratories, working essentially requires little to no prep work.
Well, perhaps, I'm a special case. In order to be prepared to clean dirty tables as well as dispose of other people's less desired materials, I make sure that I arrive armed with a sanitary face mask and a pair of durable gloves. Lip balm, hand cream, and a glass of water have also become crucial elements of surviving a 6-hour shift that consists of no breaks and potentially not even a minute to sneak in a bite of lunch.
Being thrown into a shift as the only worker in my first week of work was interesting to say in the least, but it also allowed for personal development, and gave me time to focus on doing my own job without being affected by the work done (or mistakes committed) by others.
To be blatantly honest, busy shifts are absolutely horrible: customers just want to get in and out, but are ignorant to the fact that the customer service representative does not hold sole power of getting their product to them in their desired time frame. Many things are, believe it or not, completely out of our realm of control, yet we strive our best to please them anyways since there really isn't anything else that can be done.
At the same time, though, we, as customer service reps, learn to appreciate those kind, overly understanding customers as a result of these horrendously hectic periods. These encounters are not common occurrences, however, they are profoundly treasured when they do happen.
Many people that work in this sector will have many stories to tell. And that's no surprise, as each interaction is a new experience, and will consequently play out in its own unique way. Once again, it's quite a regular circumstance to hear constant complaining about customers that happen to be difficult to deal with. But similarly, one angelic customer can be all that is needed to uplift one's mood at the end of an extremely frenzied work shift.
In this world, there are numerous types of customers present, but today I shall discuss some very specific examples.
1) The lady with a VIP card that believes she should be treated like a Queen Bee
She struts in, sunglasses on, and orders what seems to be her regular. She then proceeds to thrust her VIP card in your hands, demanding to get in and out as fast as possible, utterly oblivious to the line of people ahead of her. Once her order arrives, she receives with a substantial amount of grace, but mainly since her patience hasn't reached its lowest limit yet. While preparing to embark on her journey back to her vehicle, she notices the points cards that other customers are handing to you, and exclaims that she would like points to be added to hers as well. The points card is brought into the back, while you continue, single-handedly, taking care of the other customers in the store. Not even five minutes after, her haughty attitude kicks in, and she angrily interrogates you on the whereabouts of her card. Little does she know that it is not your fault that the card has not been returned yet. She remains to be a grouchy citizen until the card is returned, just as a child who has yet to receive candy as a token for going to bed on time.
Unlike my lectures or laboratories, working essentially requires little to no prep work.
Well, perhaps, I'm a special case. In order to be prepared to clean dirty tables as well as dispose of other people's less desired materials, I make sure that I arrive armed with a sanitary face mask and a pair of durable gloves. Lip balm, hand cream, and a glass of water have also become crucial elements of surviving a 6-hour shift that consists of no breaks and potentially not even a minute to sneak in a bite of lunch.
Being thrown into a shift as the only worker in my first week of work was interesting to say in the least, but it also allowed for personal development, and gave me time to focus on doing my own job without being affected by the work done (or mistakes committed) by others.
To be blatantly honest, busy shifts are absolutely horrible: customers just want to get in and out, but are ignorant to the fact that the customer service representative does not hold sole power of getting their product to them in their desired time frame. Many things are, believe it or not, completely out of our realm of control, yet we strive our best to please them anyways since there really isn't anything else that can be done.
At the same time, though, we, as customer service reps, learn to appreciate those kind, overly understanding customers as a result of these horrendously hectic periods. These encounters are not common occurrences, however, they are profoundly treasured when they do happen.
Many people that work in this sector will have many stories to tell. And that's no surprise, as each interaction is a new experience, and will consequently play out in its own unique way. Once again, it's quite a regular circumstance to hear constant complaining about customers that happen to be difficult to deal with. But similarly, one angelic customer can be all that is needed to uplift one's mood at the end of an extremely frenzied work shift.
In this world, there are numerous types of customers present, but today I shall discuss some very specific examples.
1) The lady with a VIP card that believes she should be treated like a Queen Bee
She struts in, sunglasses on, and orders what seems to be her regular. She then proceeds to thrust her VIP card in your hands, demanding to get in and out as fast as possible, utterly oblivious to the line of people ahead of her. Once her order arrives, she receives with a substantial amount of grace, but mainly since her patience hasn't reached its lowest limit yet. While preparing to embark on her journey back to her vehicle, she notices the points cards that other customers are handing to you, and exclaims that she would like points to be added to hers as well. The points card is brought into the back, while you continue, single-handedly, taking care of the other customers in the store. Not even five minutes after, her haughty attitude kicks in, and she angrily interrogates you on the whereabouts of her card. Little does she know that it is not your fault that the card has not been returned yet. She remains to be a grouchy citizen until the card is returned, just as a child who has yet to receive candy as a token for going to bed on time.