The Biggest Piece of Advice, Ever.

NO. No, thank you. Sorry, can't. No, I won't. No. Non. Nein. Ohi. NO!

Learn to say it.
One thing people tend to forget is that, although they may work for their company, the company does not own your soul. And they shouldn't. Just because someone quits or gets sick does not mean you have to work for 12 hours. Unless you want to, of course.

More than likely you work for a corporation. In which case they will survive without you, and that's okay. X Corp is not going to pack it in because you decided to take a day off, nor will you impress your boss by becoming a workaholic loser who is going to burn out soon anyway.

Yeah, that's right. Burn out. You don't have to work for a company for a long time in order to exhaust yourself. So how and why does this happen?

I worked with a woman, let's call her Celia. When someone was sick, she was there. When someone was late, she would not allow anyone to stay late but herself. She never gave herself a day off and finally, her biggest mistake: she volunteered for extra work.
Not that taking someone's shift to make a couple bucks is wrong. Nor is volunteering to take care of, say, the back storage area as though it were your own. But when you do all that and more, and then still say, "yes" to every job that comes up, you have a problem.

That being said, let's run down the list of reasons why this is bad, still using Celia.

In the beginning, Celia would volunteer to do jobs that no one wanted. As such, she became the "go-to" person, always being the first to be asked if she wanted to take something on. Her work piled up on her so she began to stay later and later into the day, extending her shifts until she reached overtime.
She moved up in the company quickly, all the way to a salaried position. No more overtime for her. Her normal duties increased, paperwork became a part of it. She abandoned her coworkers to their own devices while she attempted to finish it all, getting a lot of nothing done. This situation was incredibly frustrating--try bailing out a boat with a holey bucket.
If you are a boss and all you see is that nothing is accomplished when it should be, what would be your response? As you can imagine, she was not congratulated on her abilities. Nor her wonderful time management. Nor her work ethic.

This "overachiever" started to feel under-appreciated, while her bosses felt like she was slacking.

Saying "no" to a competent boss will not hinder your upward mobility. In fact, the right boss will see this as a sign of responsibility and it says, "I know my limits and I do not wish to take on a task that I am not capable of completing to the best of my ability."
Of course, if you have an "over-achieving" burnout as a boss, too, say that instead of just "no." S/He'll understand then (hopefully) and may one day take your cue.

One thing to remember is this: No working situation is ideal. If you are with a small company, they are less likely to make it out of a bad situation such as a lack of people. However, no matter the business, if your superior is unwilling or unable to put forth the effort to correct problems or to pitch in and help, you may want to start opening the classifieds.

Up next week, we explore the dos and don'ts of being an ex-employee!

Second Day of Work (part two)

Now that you have settled in a little more to your job, there are just a few more things I have to say about your general day-to-day procession. These things, if applied, will make everything easier for both you and (believe if or not) your employer.

The Biggest piece of advice I can ever give you...I'll tell you in a minute.

But first, there a couple of things most people don't really think about, but will help out tremendously. One, is to become interested.

Become interested in your coworkers, your bosses, your customers, and your company. You don't have to love them. You don't have to know every little detail, either. Just ask questions, make them feel like they are more than just another dollar (or step up) to you. Customers have an odd habit of divulging more information that it takes to complete a transaction, so take advantage. Like if someone buys a bag of ice from me. If he adds, "I need this for drinks," I ask, "Oh yeah? What are you doing?" I look interested and sincere--but for the most part, I couldn't give a flip about them. The customer might tell me that he has relatives coming into town for a reunion and none of them drink beer. This bit of information? Useless. But they feel better.
But why? Why should we make it seem like we care about some stupid middle-age guy with no life and big, non-alcoholic family? Because, my friend, he won't care as much if you mess up.
People are more prone to forgiving those they like. Think about it: if your friend from kindergarten rings up more than one of something, do you feel threatened? Do you automatically write them off as some stupid store clerk who is trying to cheat you out of your money? No. You let them know they messed up, pay them, and move on.
Also, your boss will forgive you faster for neglecting to do something in the store before you left that day. That is, if they think that you were too busy caring for them and their customers in the first place to notice.
Finally, you will understand more the why's and how's of store policy if you really pay attention to every aspect of business. Even if you are just a lowly little clerk, learn the paperwork, watch the sales records; pretend like you are working for the competition when it comes to paying attention to the mechanics of the store. In the long run, this will make it easier for you to learn how to take your boss's job (and the higher-ups tend to notice this sort of thing as well).

And the biggest piece of advice I can give you...will come in a minute.

The other half of becoming interested is becoming interesting. If you continue to show you care about your customers, then many of them will start to care about you. Before this happens, be prepared. As you may have noticed, speaking to someone as boring as a gray wall is not fun and will quickly make us wish we hadn't tried. The same goes for cashiers. Identify with people and don't be afraid to share a little about yourself.
The why of this one is a little more simple: for fun. Who do I normally share with? Friends. How do I normally make friends? Sharing with strangers. When I go to work, I am accompanied by my co-workers, yes, but also by my customers. Most people don't have time to stand in a store and chat (some do; that's not the point). So while your co-workers have the opportunity to pry and wheedle something fun out of me, my customers do not. If you volunteer harmless information ("why, yes, I was born of two parents!"), then you can make fast friends, and "fast food friends."
"Fast food friends" are the patrons who come into the store that I know enough about and our personalities are compatible enough that I feel like I've had a friendly visit rather than just had to check someone out. These encounters usually last as long as it takes to get fast food, hence the name.

And finally, the moment you have all been waiting for! It is time for me to tell you that the biggest, most valuable advice that money can buy................is going to have to wait until Friday. I know, I'm evil.

Second Day of Work

So you have decided that CS is the job for you (or you were too lazy and broke to continue looking)...now what?

Now, you (hopefully) have years and years ahead of you to perfect your CS abilities and move up the corporate ladder! While you're on your way, however, let me share some advice with you:

First and foremost, you need to learn to be patient with yourself. Everyone makes mistakes, even you. When you hand back incorrect change or press a wrong key on your screen, just remember that it is NOT the end of the world. All you need to do is to make a mental note of what you did wrong and try not to do it again. The only stupid mistake out there is one you never tried to learn from, even if the lesson is just to never do it again.

Secondly, you need to learn to love your job. Every morning, while making coffee at our coffee bar, I overhear so many of our customers say, "I don't want to go to work," or "I'd be fine if I wasn't on my way to work." And I can't help but reply, "If you feel that way, maybe you ought not work there." Not everyone can have an awesomely cushy job. And maybe your only talents are something that won't feasibly earn a living. That's okay. What you need to do is to find pleasure in the little things dealing with your line of work. Even if for the strangest reasons. For example:
I find great enjoyment out of exceeding a customer's expectations. This is not because I enjoy being subservient, but because it will either wipe that smug look off of their face, or it will truly brighten their day. I also feel a strange satisfaction in getting on my knees and scrubbing, well, anything. This is probably related to a freak floor-cleaner accident when I was a wee lass and is not really the norm. However, I take this with me every time something needs to be cleaned (as a side note, I'd like to say that done right, scrubbing equals zen).

Thirdly, multitasking. This can be one heck of a tool for when the balance of things to do versus time to do them with is out of whack. However, you want to use this sparingly. If you overdo this particular method, you will start to go a little crazy. Symptoms include, but are not limited to: dizziness (due to running around the room), headache (from trying to cram too many to-do lists in your brain), forgetfulness (when tasks started before extensions to said lists start to fall out), and finding you have more to do than before. An example of the last one is when you carry too many things at once because you have a limited amount of time before, say, your first batch of coffee is done brewing, and end up spilling whatever you were carrying.
If you find that you are suffering from one or more of these symptoms, please stop everything, breathe, and if possible, get some help from a co-worker! You cannot and should not do everything in you store. Do a limited number of things really well; don't do a half job at everything. But also make sure your boss knows what responsibilities you are perfecting.


So far, we've discussed being patient with yourself, learning to love your job and multitasking. These are important things to remember in making your job easier. The next post will continue this subject. Points will include becoming interested, becoming interesting, and the biggest bit of advice I can ever give you.

Congratulations!

YOU HAVE CHOSEN to enter the world of Customer Service (or CS)! But before you get too excited, first let me say that if you have another option, please consider it. Let's start with some pros and cons:

Pro: You make money.
Con: Depending on where you work, you don't make much.

Pro: Once you get the hang of it, your job is relatively easy.
Con: You are also easily replaced.

Pro: You get to meet many interesting people.
Con: You get to meet many horrible, cranky, rude, mean, perverted people.

As this list could go on for days, let me sum it up. This job can both rock and suck hardcore at the same time, depending on a lot of factors. These factors can change day by day and hour by hour. Basically, if you don't have any other choice but to work in CS, or if you've simply decided that you're in it for the long haul, stick with me. I've been there and done that for the passed five years and, accordingly, will be able to throw some advice your way. Not to mention the random, awesome story.