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I love helping people, and there is no uncertainty in my voice when I proclaim: 'I've had an odd life so far.'
It all started about 12 years ago now.
Christmas. 1999. BigBox electronics store.
They hired me for $8 an hour selling computers out of their PC department. There was no commission, so I took this to mean "HELP PEOPLE FIRST, care about your non-existent differential in paycheck at some distant point in the future."
With retail, unpredictable schedules did me in. Trying to hack around on my computer after a 1am home arrival and a 9am due time to report for my next shift, led to many 2 or 3 hour nights...and a few too many 2 hour long snooze-fests with The alarm, not even remembering how many times I hit it..
Flash-forward.
An entire decade of of *actually enjoying* helping everyone, from numbskulls to nice old ladies to annoyed soccer moms to...well you name it, Ive dealt with one. How the h-e-double-hockeysticks does that happen, ENJOYING such work?
Though, I guess I've always been helpful, even as a young kid. I've also had a penchant for educating since I was about 4, starting off by making a "how to cook breakfast" audio lesson one day and really putting some time and thought into it. From then on, I've been a go-to guy for anything under the sun. If I don't know it, I'll take a bit of time to research and try to explain the concept easier.
I love trying to spread what I have learned myself to those willing to try and understand. Doesn't matter what it is. If I learn it, I end up being able and WILLING to teach it to others!
As I now sit, looking for Yet-Another-Job, contemplating just starting my own consulting business versus working at sub-par pay doing 4x the work for some company, I am sitting on Freenode IRC helping people FOR FREE with their computer issues. I just can't get away from it; its apparently wound quite deep to the core of my being.
While 10+ years with sales (retail and inside) and phone / email CSR positions is draining, I end up feeling good at the end of the day at least knowing I gave my all to truly help the people who appreciated it. If the customer was an arrogant SOB I at least took reassurance that I did every thing I could to assist.
Honestly, I think anger needs to be present; Without anger, humans repress feelings and can become very closed off and suffer in their own mind after some time...Short, to the point, and non-physically-threatening (to the angered, or the person/object being vented to) bursts of anger at least help us re-settle our calmness after the annoyance passes. So if the guy curses me out on the phone, maybe I've just helped him become calmer, quicker.
Then theres the other end of the spectrum: people I've worked with!
I've met toooo many coworkers who are singularly money-focused and sell the most random CRAP to a person all for a commission bump, or time panicked/overzealous to "finish everything" and simply reply 3 words to an email about a HUGE problem they never even read just to clear out the Inbox for the day.
Let me also mention at this place that I was forced to 'track' customer issues with Gmail. Yes, Google Apps was installed at one workplace and the entire CSR ticketing system WAS A SHARED MAIL ACCOUNT. Let's not mention Cerberus sitting on the network, dusty and forgotten. It apparently didn't work well for the incumbent employees.
It would have helped me LOADS though, because I am a very contextual person. I need to have all the data in one place, now, to solve a problem, and then can switch tasks in an instant to something else. Tickets? no, I had to look through emails, strings and strings of emails. Local notes? How many StickyNotes can osx load up in its Dashboard? I bet God knows, but my monitor size wasn't letting me approach the limit.
What's happened to those of us who want to take just a short time to help make someone's day a little bit brighter? Why do some complete assholes get jobs as CSRs? Probably no other place would take them
Its definitely NOT my cup of tea when my internet or cellphone account needs looking into, and I'm forced to call and wait on hold for someone who probably can't help me, then wait on hold longer for the person I knew I needed to talk to in the first place... At the very least is it so hard to be at the least somewhat happy sounding to alleviate customer annoyance after waiting so long to talk to you?
I for one appreciate and thank every good CSR whether they can help me or not simply because I feel for 'em and I and try to make their lives less stressful because _I've been there_...
The Village Inn lady a week ago for Pie Wednesday was overjoyed that I would take 3 dollars in quarters as she had just ran out of singles. I told her "I've had drawers so empty I was handing out rolls of pennies and nickels left and right. It's not a problem!"
So, to everyone, HI
Yes, I AM longwinded too!
It all started about 12 years ago now.
Christmas. 1999. BigBox electronics store.
They hired me for $8 an hour selling computers out of their PC department. There was no commission, so I took this to mean "HELP PEOPLE FIRST, care about your non-existent differential in paycheck at some distant point in the future."
With retail, unpredictable schedules did me in. Trying to hack around on my computer after a 1am home arrival and a 9am due time to report for my next shift, led to many 2 or 3 hour nights...and a few too many 2 hour long snooze-fests with The alarm, not even remembering how many times I hit it..
Flash-forward.
An entire decade of of *actually enjoying* helping everyone, from numbskulls to nice old ladies to annoyed soccer moms to...well you name it, Ive dealt with one. How the h-e-double-hockeysticks does that happen, ENJOYING such work?
Though, I guess I've always been helpful, even as a young kid. I've also had a penchant for educating since I was about 4, starting off by making a "how to cook breakfast" audio lesson one day and really putting some time and thought into it. From then on, I've been a go-to guy for anything under the sun. If I don't know it, I'll take a bit of time to research and try to explain the concept easier.
I love trying to spread what I have learned myself to those willing to try and understand. Doesn't matter what it is. If I learn it, I end up being able and WILLING to teach it to others!
As I now sit, looking for Yet-Another-Job, contemplating just starting my own consulting business versus working at sub-par pay doing 4x the work for some company, I am sitting on Freenode IRC helping people FOR FREE with their computer issues. I just can't get away from it; its apparently wound quite deep to the core of my being.
While 10+ years with sales (retail and inside) and phone / email CSR positions is draining, I end up feeling good at the end of the day at least knowing I gave my all to truly help the people who appreciated it. If the customer was an arrogant SOB I at least took reassurance that I did every thing I could to assist.
Honestly, I think anger needs to be present; Without anger, humans repress feelings and can become very closed off and suffer in their own mind after some time...Short, to the point, and non-physically-threatening (to the angered, or the person/object being vented to) bursts of anger at least help us re-settle our calmness after the annoyance passes. So if the guy curses me out on the phone, maybe I've just helped him become calmer, quicker.
Then theres the other end of the spectrum: people I've worked with!
I've met toooo many coworkers who are singularly money-focused and sell the most random CRAP to a person all for a commission bump, or time panicked/overzealous to "finish everything" and simply reply 3 words to an email about a HUGE problem they never even read just to clear out the Inbox for the day.
Let me also mention at this place that I was forced to 'track' customer issues with Gmail. Yes, Google Apps was installed at one workplace and the entire CSR ticketing system WAS A SHARED MAIL ACCOUNT. Let's not mention Cerberus sitting on the network, dusty and forgotten. It apparently didn't work well for the incumbent employees.
It would have helped me LOADS though, because I am a very contextual person. I need to have all the data in one place, now, to solve a problem, and then can switch tasks in an instant to something else. Tickets? no, I had to look through emails, strings and strings of emails. Local notes? How many StickyNotes can osx load up in its Dashboard? I bet God knows, but my monitor size wasn't letting me approach the limit.
What's happened to those of us who want to take just a short time to help make someone's day a little bit brighter? Why do some complete assholes get jobs as CSRs? Probably no other place would take them
Its definitely NOT my cup of tea when my internet or cellphone account needs looking into, and I'm forced to call and wait on hold for someone who probably can't help me, then wait on hold longer for the person I knew I needed to talk to in the first place... At the very least is it so hard to be at the least somewhat happy sounding to alleviate customer annoyance after waiting so long to talk to you?
I for one appreciate and thank every good CSR whether they can help me or not simply because I feel for 'em and I and try to make their lives less stressful because _I've been there_...
The Village Inn lady a week ago for Pie Wednesday was overjoyed that I would take 3 dollars in quarters as she had just ran out of singles. I told her "I've had drawers so empty I was handing out rolls of pennies and nickels left and right. It's not a problem!"
So, to everyone, HI
Yes, I AM longwinded too!
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