Whenever it’s someone’s job to help me, I think of it as an opportunity to create a bright spot in what would otherwise be a pretty boring shift. I make them laugh with my silly commentary, engage them in interesting conversation, and above all, show that I care. I hope it makes them as happy as it makes me. And if it doesn’t, well hey, there’s always next time, right?
I want to show people that there is still good left in this world. When social media blares humanity’s worst all the time, love and compassion need to be loud, too. Cynicism, nihilism, and indifference have pervaded every aspect of our culture and, in my opinion, they just aren’t cool anymore. Joy is rebellion. Kindness is radical. Optimism is counterculture.
It may be their job to provide the service, but it’s my mission to provide the goofy to whoever needs it. Yes sir, I know this is a Wendy’s, but I’m not going to let that stop me!
I really like that you do this, and I try as well
For example, when I’m at thrift and an employee says “I’ll put that back for you” I reply “That’s okay I’ll do it, you have enough work to do”
Never fails to brighten their day
As a service worker, I have a fair few regulars who I know will brighten my day when I see them. It really doesn’t take much; a friendly demeanour, a smile, a joke or two, it all goes a long way to make me feel like we’re having a human interaction rather than me being a machine through which you order food & drinks. I’ve been doing this type of work for years but I still get flabbergasted at people who answer “latte to-go” when I ask them how their day is going.
That being said, something that annoys me (not saying you do this, you sound sweet and self-aware) is when people try to chat us up when we’re clearly busy and in a rush. I don’t want to be rude, and I would love to chat if I had time, but when I have a mountain of tickets to get through I’m not going to be a particularly engaging conversation partner :P
It really does cut both ways. I feel like it’s easy for both sides to get wrapped up in this just being another face in the sea of millions. Another person to deal with.
Especially when we have a lot going on. Where they might not know the shitshow playing out in the back of house, we can’t know the show going on back at theirs.
I always like to put stuff back in the right spot in store shelves, and fix it if I notice something misplaced or fallen down. It’s just a small thing for me to do, but I know I take a little annoyance out of someone’s workday.
I don’t do it to remove someone else’s annoyance: I do it because it annoys me, ha!
An example from just this morning. While ending a support call with T-Mobile I said “it’s name correct?, thank you name I really appreciate you” And I could practically see her smile through the phone as she said “Wow! You actually remembered. Thank YOU so much!!” Turns out people just want to be treated with kindness, and as crazy as it sounds treated like actual humans.
As someone who works in a service job, people like this are very appreciated! Too many people just see a robot that exists only to serve their every whim and couldn’t possibly have thoughts and feelings of it’s own.
And to the people that say it’s our job to make customers happy, yes it is. But you may find that by trying to brighten that worker’s day they may go out of their way to make sure you have a superior experience. I certainly do, and when I’m the customer I’ve often found it to be the case as well.
As someone currently stuck in a service gig, thank you. We might not always show it, but at the end of the day, a good customer interaction is a bright spot. Many of us are tired, in every way you can think of. I have watched my coworkers lose and find a religion in the back freezer, all within one 10 minute cry break.
Joy is rebellion. Kindness is radical. Optimism is counterculture.
I just wanted to pull out this little nugget because, as the kids say:
Bars
I just say thank you and try to be reasonable and not use up more of their time than I need to.
That’s another way to be nice. A mixture of both makes for a good shift, even if one other customer is shitty.
