Helpful hints for the uninitiated

[Antisocial_Worker]

The poor thing looked so lost...

This morning a new hire showed up before anyone else coming in for the morning shift. We had a few minutes to talk, and after ascertaining that she was very young, had almost no customer service experience, and had absolutely no experience working in hotels, I tried to give her some pointers to get her started on the day.

I told her that basically, people want what they want when they want it, and to take nothing personally. However, if you in any way impede someone getting exactly what they want exactly when they want it, you cease being a person in their eyes and become instead an impediment to their joy.

Her eyes got really big.

Was this appropriate? It seemed more tactful that just being brutally honest and saying, "You poor thing. Our guests are the biggest bunch of self-important, entitled pricks on the face of God's gray earth and the Cubic Zirconium members are going to eat you alive. You'll die screaming."

I was trying to be helpful. What would you have said?

[eltf177]

You were honest. Let's face it, your new worker will be hit by SC's at some point and at least now they're somewhat prepared for it...

[dalesys]

You needed to use Deteriorata as theme music.

[Android Kaeli]

I was trying to be helpful. What would you have said?

This:

"You poor thing. Our guests are the biggest bunch of self-important, entitled pricks on the face of God's gray earth and the Cubic Zirconium members are going to eat you alive. You'll die screaming."

Or something along the lines of: "By this time tomorrow you will start to express the desire to kill every last human on this planet save for those that do good by loving their pets and animals more then they do humans. This reaction is natural and the general hatred towards the majority of your fellow human beings will take the place of other emotions. Soon you will love your [desired pet] more then you do people."

[Shyla]

I might have said Customers tend to see employees as less than human and may treat you as such; the first few times you might cry but after that you will just learn to hate people. Be honest.

[Antisocial_Worker]

If it helps, I also told her that for at least the first few months she's going to feel like a kid playing dress up in a bad suit more so than a competent desk agent.

[raudf]

Oh, that poor, poor, kid.

"Here is your SC bingo card. If you fill the card, you'll have earned the achievement, "No F#$@s Given.' On the back of the card, there is the number for the murder prevention hotline. You'll have it memorized by the end of the week. If you feel the need to head desk, there is some padding under the desk to make it a little less painful for you."

[Marmalady]

I hope you told her of the existence of this site as well.

[WishfulSpirit]

Antisocial, you really need a new job. Maybe something working with machines. Or freelance where you can be by yourself with a computer all day. Methinks you might be a *tad* burnt out.

[bhskittykatt]

What I tell new hires is, "don't let them see you sweat". The SCs see you're inexperienced and nervous, and they'll move in for the kill and twist you to give them whatever free shit they're after. Even if you don't have the confidence, fake it 'till you make it and you can survive.

[Catwoman2965]

At my now former PT retail job, we had this one customer, who would come in, and if you let her corner you, talk you to death about how the quality of our clothes sucked, and why did they do this, or that, and so on. She'd go on endlessly, and wihtout being completely rude and simply walking away, there was really no way to get away from her.

I saw far too many new hires, who hadn't had the pleasure of dealing with her, get suck with her. I learned, by experience, and would tell them, keep talking and moving. Talk to her, acknowledge her concerns etc, but don't stop or you're toast. Eventually she'll see that she isn't getting your undivided attention, and leave. Worked like a charm!

[notalwaysright]

The poor thing looked so lost...

Ah, yes. That deer in the headlights look. Mostly what I tell the newbies is not to let the customers push them around. Ask a CW. Ask a manager. Don't just do something. Our training sucks. Well, it doesn't suck because there is no training, not really. So these poor people are just shoved out there, usually at the cutting counter, because they don't have to take a test for it. There's an actual register test which cashiers have to do, as opposed to the cutting counter, which makes it seem like it's easier and that's not really true. You don't get the register sticker shock SCs ("the total is HOW much?! No, that's not right!"), but you do get more questions. And the new people get reamed if they don't know every bolt of fabric, or how to sew everything. I don't either, but I guess I'm used to it now?

Anyway, the other thing I might tell them is not to be timid. Once a SC sees a hint of uncertainty, they jump on it like a vulture. That was my problem when I first started. The better employees have a way of being nice, but firm.

[XCashier]

At my now former PT retail job, we had this one customer, who would come in, and if you let her corner you, talk you to death about how the quality of our clothes sucked, and why did they do this, or that, and so on.

"Then why do you still shop here?" What does she want you to do, break out the sewing machine and tailor-make her clothes?! People like this are one of the reasons that retail is such an awful job.

[Antisocial_Worker]

Antisocial, you really need a new job. Maybe something working with machines. Or freelance where you can be by yourself with a computer all day. Methinks you might be a *tad* burnt out.

I'm only doing this job until I can get through school. Life sucks when you don't know what you want to do when you grow up until you grow up.

I'm not a people person -- I hate people. I'm not a "hotel person" -- it takes a certain type of person (and you know who you are) to truly hack it at a hotel, and it especially takes a certain type of person to want to make that their life's work. As for me, I'm going to school to become a forensic social worker.

Going to school for that sort of thing really has a way of putting things into perspective and for messing the settings on your give-a-shitter all up. Once you see a few pictures confiscated in a child porn raid, it becomes extremely hard to care about some Cubic Zirconium member's stupid little problem that has them in a frothing rage.

[Catwoman2965]

"Then why do you still shop here?" What does she want you to do, break out the sewing machine and tailor-make her clothes?!

People like this are one of the reasons that retail is such an awful job.

You don't know HOW many times I wanted to ask her that! She brought soemthing back one time, i think a pair of shoes, and actually compared the stitching on the top to another. Saying it was a SMIDGE of a hair off. Really? and you'd like me to do waht about it? She was a PITA.