Does anyone automatically cringe at customers from working retail so long?

[Dave1982]

I totally do the same thing. There are times (like this past week) where I actually avoid some customers just because they look like they might be annoying/stupid/sucky. Then I am (sometimes) pleasant surprised to find out that they are totally ordinary customers.

At my store, when a call comes in, the overhead page beep goes off, followed by a short delay (but longer than the delay on any page an employee makes) before an automated voice announces which department the call is for. There are times when that pause is like the interval between "On the first count of the indictment, how do you find?" and then the "Guilty" (ie, the call is for MY department) or "not guilty" (someone else gets to answer it).

(And no, I'm not speaking from experience on the court metaphor).

[theredbaron47]

That's a good metaphor, Dave Me like!

Today was the first day since I can remember where more people who came to my register were non-sucky than sucky! I actually left work as happy as I was when I started my (7 hour) shift! Maybe there is hope after all

(yeah right, now that I said that, we all know what tomorrow will be like...)

I would like to say that stupid people, ignorant people, people who don't read, and people who just don't pay attention will never cease to amaze me:

Lady (75+): I want to use this coupon for these eye drops.
Me: I'm sorry, but the coupon isn't for this brand. It is for this brand **goes to shelf and pulls item the coupon is for**
Lady: Huh? Where does it say that?
Me: **points** Right here.
Lady: That's false advertising!
Me:

So as soon as logic gets in the way of your hallucination, it's false advertising? God how I wish it worked that way! This lady wasn't sucky about it though. I wish people would read coupons before they use them. She ended up not taking the eye drops the coupon was for (I guess due to the principle of the ordeal?), and didn't take the drops she grabbed the first time either because they were too expensive (which they were, I'll admit, but I feel she owed us something ).

[myswtghst]

When a call comes in on our software it makes this tell tale "bing" noise. I have *seriously* woken up in the middle of the night because I thought I heard that bing.

We have a similar "call alert" noise, and I too, have jerked awake at night and literally started my greeting. I've also been known to answer my cell phone with my work company greeting.

[Ringtail Z28]

Not only do I cringe when customers approach, the first thought in my head when seeing one is "Go Away, Go Away, GO AWAY!!!"

I used do the exact same thing. At my current job I cringe when I see my coworkers, because the only reson they talk to me is when they want me to do something for them or need someone to yell at.

[1756GR2]

I started working retail three years ago, at a relatively advanced age for the business. I started out wanting to help our customers work through problems related to their cell phones and bills. Everything was an opportunity to make lemonade out of lemons, so to speak. That lasted the better part of the first year. Now, I almost expect a conflict. It's not my company, it's the customers and their sense of entitlement. I find myself dragging up the walk to my home after work, irritated at feeling irritated and worn out by liars, exaggerators, ridiculous demands, those who feel policies don't apply to their Special Situation, people who come with attitude already in place even before I've had a chance to say hello. There are days when I walk up to our kiosk feeling like I'm walking into the dunking tank at the fair.

So, yeah, I've become pretty jaded. But I've also become one heckuva lot nicer to other folks who are providing me a service.

I still have hope that an encounter will go well, but I'm not the least bit surprised when it doesn't.

[hotelnpa]

Whenever I see a car pull up to the front of the hotel, I start to cringe, especially after a rough night. Sometimes I wish I could say we are sold out so I don't have to deal with it for the rest of the night. But when we do sell out, people become upset because we don't have any rooms left.

[Antisocial_Worker]

For me, the main effect has been severe dread of the "holiday" season.

I'm with you there, although for hotel workers in my part of the country the "holiday season" (ie tourist season) stretches from May to November.

One thing I've noticed since our staff and management transferred to another property is that the clientele at this property tends to be a little less demanding than the guests at our other hotel. People there started out at a baseline of "jerk", with frequent spikes up to the level of "asshole." People here are a little more mellow, although when they spike, they spike up past asshole all the way to "screaming shit-fiend from hell."

I find that the hardass attitude I developed while at the other property helps with this, but like the others on here, I'm to the point that I regard my customers as enemy combatants. There have been numerous times this year that I've wanted out of here so badly that I thought I was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.

Whenever I see a car pull up to the front of the hotel, I start to cringe, especially after a rough night. Sometimes I wish I could say we are sold out so I don't have to deal with it for the rest of the night. But when we do sell out, people become upset because we don't have any rooms left.

I've had days so bad that I deliberately doubled the rate just to make people go away. As often as not, they'd still take the room though.

[theredbaron47]

I still have hope that an encounter will go well, but I'm not the least bit surprised when it doesn't.

That's how I've been feeling the past few years.

I once read in a customer service handbook that customers only become angered (read: sucky) when a want or need of theirs is not met, or the service they receive is not satisfactory to them. Instead of retaliating, the best approach is to defuse them by apologizing and asking how you can help to fix the situation. If they want or need something that cannot be done for them... well, that's that, and they're SOL. So why the hell do they become angry with us? We cannot help them, go somewhere that can help you. It's such a simple process, I really don't see the need for people to become sucky about it.

[B&NGoddess]

"sucky until proven pleasant"

with me, its guilty till proven innocent of douchism. retail has warped me so much i hate everyone. quite sad really, i used to be such a pleasant girl, but the title of my book is "the bookstore: how i became bitter and cynical by nineteen."

[AirHostess]

Me too! People annoy me so much

Working retail at college was bad enough, I did 8 hours a week and I used to work in the holidays and it drove me mad! I used to get home and had to sit in a room by myself for an hour just to calm down from the sheer rudeness of people.

Then for some reason I chose to be a flight attendant. Big Mistake. Made me realise how much people suck. Being trapped with rude, stupid people in a metal tube at 35,000 feet...urgh. It got to the stage where I hated every passenger and dreaded going into work.

I work in medical personnel as an administrator in a hospital now dealing with doctors. Quite a lot of them are rude too but at least I don't have to serve them!

[Pezzle]

Working retail at college was bad enough, I did 8 hours a week and I used to work in the holidays and it drove me mad! I used to get home and had to sit in a room by myself for an hour just to calm down from the sheer rudeness of people.

Yeah... I know. I work 30-35 hours a week to make ends meet, cost of living here and taxes are a royal pain. I tell them not to, but they usually put me on for around 45 hours a week during the holiday season, with complete disregard for my academic career. During the holidays, people always act like you set their cat on fire or something crazy like that, they always blame every little problem on you.

The stress I deal with in day-to-day retail life has been brought home with me before. Before I can realize I have blown up and taken out frustrations on my boyfriend, it's done, and I feel so bad because all I do is frustrate and hurt him after a long day at work.

After I quit this job, I think I might need some post-retail therapy...

[wheresmysanity]

OMG, are you kidding me? You are NOT alone!

My soul has rotted to black sludge, my eyes are permanently arid from the tears of frustration that I've shed, my mind is stuffed to the gills with images of snarling, nasty, irrational customers. Yes, I feel like crouching behind my desk every time I see someone - anyone - walk through the entrance of my store!

I'm actually at the point where I wonder if I can ever DATE someone who HASN'T worked in CS before. Would he understand the PAIN? Would he be able to relate to me or understand why I come home in a lousy mood??? Yes, I'm totally serious. If you haven't done this sort of work, you will never be able to understand my bouts of psychosis and depression! On top of that, if I'm out shopping with said companion and see that he acts like a sucky customer, I'm kicking him to the curb in 2 seconds flat.

Customer service has made me wiser, but it has also seriously altered my life!

I've been doing this 10 years, BTW.