I had not completely forgotten that customer service had its odd duck moments where customers complain about weird things. Yet, I had hoped that by the time I went back into the workforce, and the type of work I do now, would have changed the weirdness at least a little bit.
Of course, I was wrong.
This week I got bitched at for a door being locked that is always locked on weekends for security reasons because that section of the building is closed and unmanned, I got bitched at for not playing classical and opera music (I work at a fitness gym by the way), and I got bitched at because another male member of the gym won’t wear a towel in the sauna, even though he’s been wearing a swim suit (because sweat grosses the complaining member out and he doesn’t trust the suit to hold the sweat as much as a towel will).
That’s just this week of course.
There are also the usual complaints. Things like not wanting to wear masks in designated areas (we are attached to a medical center and masks are required in the medical hallways and rooms). Or that the music isn’t on in the pool area. Or that the music isn’t loud enough. Or that the TVs aren’t syncing to the audio devices on the workout equipment. Or the towels are over flowing in the locker rooms. Or they don’t like the terms of the contract.
You know, the usual things that on occasion I can do something about, or at least sympathize with the offended party.
I’ve found that my people pleasing traits tend to kick back in when things like this happen. Even my boss says that sometimes we just need to tell people they are wrong and need to go elsewhere, and she empowers us to do that if there is nothing further we can do for them or to refer them to her so she can tell them that. But, even empowered, the trauma I’ve suffered from past experiences in retail and customer service has conditioned me to bend over backwards to please the customers even when they’re wrong, and I have to fight the urge to just relent and give them whatever they want.
I’m not afraid of conflict of course, I’m sure I’ve mentioned that before, but this people pleasing tendency tends to make me feel like the bad guy when I do enforce the policies and rules that this new employer asks me to. Not just from getting bitched at which never feels good, but also because of conditioning. It opens my eyes to the abuses that I underwent in the past, not only from customers while working retail, but also from managers…especially when my past managers ignored the policies and just handed people what they wanted and built an atmosphere of inconsistency in policy holding, and then scolded us for passing a difficult customer off to them and not just giving the customer what they wanted. Like dealing with difficult customers isn’t their job…and neither is upholding company policies.
That major retailer I used to work for is no longer in existence by the way. Gee I wonder why?
The toxic message that “the customer is always right” has created an extremely volatile atmosphere in customer service, and the lack of consistency in upholding policies has really harmed not only employers and employees, but customers also.
One of the patterns I’ve found in customer service is that the wealthier customers (or those who want to be perceived as such) are the ones who want the discounts and fight to get things for free or for less much more aggressively than the blue collar person. This builds a rift between the classes and speaks volumes to the elitism forming in the customer service industry and increases the wealth and working class gap on a social level.
Are the blue collar workers happy to pay shipping and handling? Are they happy that there’s a service charge? No. They aren’t, but because they work hard for their money and realize everything costs something, they usually relent because of need for the product or service, or just choose to live without. In my experience The well-off (in this case from my experience, the doctors wives, the doctors, the car dealership owners, the high price tag real estate agents, and locally living politicians), complain until they get what they want or near to it even if they can afford it, (sometimes to the point of causing scenes involving tears or yelling and other commonly considered childish behavior) and never have to make the sacrifice to live without. They just get what they want if they are loud enough or make the situation uncomfortable enough.
Which makes not being easily made uncomfortable or afraid of conflict infuriating to them.
As this social gap widens, decent people, employees and customers alike, tend to start feeling alienated against. Customers start shopping at retailer not because they want to, but because they have to for continuity of parts, like styles, or necessary/contracted services and feel forced and unhappy. Employees stay in toxic jobs out of desperation for the money, or the insurance, and no longer believe in the service they provide because of the lack of consistency in the employer and the mistreatment they suffer at the hands of more entitled customers.
Thus the unhappy workforce, the dislike for Monday, and the general dystopian feel we currently have in a capitalist construct that is becoming more and more corporatist every day.
...Bag O' Magic Soup 