I got my first job when I was 17 years old, working in retail sales. It wasn’t what I was hoping to end up with, but there I was. At first, I thought that it was great! The work wasn’t that hard; I picked up on everything quickly, and the discount was amazing. And since then, I have started working at two different restaurants, and my experiences there have been pretty different. While I’ve come to love the atmosphere and the people I work with, there’s one thing all three jobs have in common: the customers. I guess I didn’t fully account for just how big of a part of the job they would be.
Working in customer service has truly taught me a lot about the general public, and honestly, most of it has not been good. There is something about walking into a restaurant or a store that just makes people completely forget that the employees are people too. I mean, I could be having the worst day of my life, but the second that a customer gets annoyed about a price, a wait time, where I sat them, or not having an item in stock, suddenly I am a force of evil that is out to get them.
Retail, in particular, has shown me how much of a pain customer service really is. I spend hours during my shifts helping people find things, cleaning up their messes that they leave everywhere (and I truly mean EVERYWHERE), and answering the exact same questions over and over again. Most of the work itself isn’t that terrible once you get used to it. But what makes it difficult is constantly having to put on my best smile and attitude when someone is being rude and yelling at me (a teenage girl who, in fact, did not create the price of that sweatshirt). You learn pretty quickly that saying what you want is NEVER an option.
At the same time, my experience working in a restaurant has been completely different. Sure, the customers can still be a pain, but at least it’s not just me who is feeling the irritation. I work in two different restaurant environments, and I genuinely enjoy the atmosphere of them. I like the people that I work with, the energy of a busy shift, and the feeling that everyone is working towards one goal. There will always be stressful moments, like when the place is packed and suddenly everyone wants their check, a refill, or boxes for their food, but there is also a sense of teamwork that makes it worth it.
One of the biggest things that customer service has taught me is that you really never know what kind of person is going to walk through that door. Some customers are great, and a simple “thank you” from them can turn my shift around. But on the other end of that, there are some that make me question why I chose a job where getting yelled at seems to be a part of the job description that is written in invisible ink.
I am no way saying that customer service jobs are bad; I truly think that they can teach you a lot. I have even gone as far as to say that everyone should work in customer service at least once in their life to see what it’s actually like. These types of jobs can teach you many valuable skills and lessons, but they are grossly underestimated in how draining they can be.
At the end of the day (or shift), we are all just people. We have bad days, we’re all tired (no, seriously, I have been here since before we opened), and we all make mistakes. But a little respect can truly go a long way. It’s all about learning how to deal with people—and how to keep your sanity in the midst of it all.