How many of you simply don't care?

i think this may be a topic, but im too tired and lazy to look it up, but i have come to the realization that i may care just a little too much or im just a good employee with good work ethic.

it seems that nowadays, you pay for service or go to a place and expect the workers to be friendly and willing to help, but you are severely disappointed. it seems that the worker doesn't care or doesn't want to stop texting their idiot-face friend about last night's party or they are too lazy.

i do care, mainly because i don't want to **** up someone's artwork and be held responsible for giving bad advice or encouraging something i know absolutely nothing about, but.... i kinda like helping people. i like helping people when they appreciate it, when they're kind and courteous to me, don't treat me nasty or like i am below them, and you know what? i like seeing people smile! not only does it make them look better, but ya know, when you get a smile, you know the person is happy and you have done your job correctly or they feel welcome and at ease and DO appreciate that kind of thing! DAMNIT!

apparently, other people don't feel the same way. they hate helping others, they really don't care what you do and will give bad advice, and it makes you wonder why. i also kind of wonder why i have wasted "internet paper" for this thread, but just a curious thought... how many of you don't care about helping others? would you give minimal treatment or, even though it's not the best job, still try you're best and give it a good go around?

yes, i also know that there are introverts, not very engaging people, cynical bastards, etc. out there in the world that would rather be left alone and i understand that. trust me, being around people all day IS irksome and most certainly tiring, but even for the introverts, do you still care? would you purposefully give bad service because you did not care?

this does not apply if the customer was rude. if the customer was rude and extremely obnoxious, by god, give them horrible service or be extremely rude back! they warranted it! why not give them a taste of their own medicine?

Disclaimer: yeah, pretty sure this is a waste, but im tired and was thinking about this the other day.|||Quote:








i think this may be a topic, but im too tired and lazy to look it up, but i have come to the realization that i may care just a little too much or im just a good employee with good work ethic.

it seems that nowadays, you pay for service or go to a place and expect the workers to be friendly and willing to help, but you are severely disappointed. it seems that the worker doesn't care or doesn't want to stop texting their idiot-face friend about last night's party or they are too lazy.

i do care, mainly because i don't want to **** up someone's artwork and be held responsible for giving bad advice or encouraging something i know absolutely nothing about, but.... i kinda like helping people. i like helping people when they appreciate it, when they're kind and courteous to me, don't treat me nasty or like i am below them, and you know what? i like seeing people smile! not only does it make them look better, but ya know, when you get a smile, you know the person is happy and you have done your job correctly or they feel welcome and at ease and DO appreciate that kind of thing! DAMNIT!

apparently, other people don't feel the same way. they hate helping others, they really don't care what you do and will give bad advice, and it makes you wonder why. i also kind of wonder why i have wasted "internet paper" for this thread, but just a curious thought... how many of you don't care about helping others? would you give minimal treatment or, even though it's not the best job, still try you're best and give it a good go around?

yes, i also know that there are introverts, not very engaging people, cynical bastards, etc. out there in the world that would rather be left alone and i understand that. trust me, being around people all day IS irksome and most certainly tiring, but even for the introverts, do you still care? would you purposefully give bad service because you did not care?

this does not apply if the customer was rude. if the customer was rude and extremely obnoxious, by god, give them horrible service or be extremely rude back! they warranted it! why not give them a taste of their own medicine?

Disclaimer: yeah, pretty sure this is a waste, but im tired and was thinking about this the other day.




i treat people how I would want to be treated.|||This is a complicated issue. Most jobs involve some interaction, and positive exchanges are optimal for many reasons. People cannot just quit and pick up another job so fast. Or they can, but it would be a worse job or another people job. Workers can feel like degraded machines after a while. You can only care so much until you reach exhaustion and feel stepped on.

Me, I care about good or neutral "customers", and I want to dump everyone else into the ocean after a long ferry ride. Sadly, I'd say 97% of my "customers" are evil and qualify for the ocean. But they don't need to know that.

Realistically, I can only care up to a point about people who treat me like garbage. But I can't let them get to me and have them affect my performance. I try to think of the good and neutrals watching/overhearing, so I don't let the evils win and change my good behavior.

You don't have to fake smiles all day if it's tedious (in fact, people can detect fake smiles anyway from slack muscles around the eyes); instead, a pleasant tone of voice and the extra etiquette words will suffice. It can all be an act, a facade. You can flat out lie the entire shift, feigning interest in everyone. It's the results that matter, not necessarily the caring.

Edit: I had a much larger post filled with humorous examples, but to trim it down, even for rude "customers" I have the following mindset: don't become like them or let them break you down. Be mindful that you are the winner simply by not being a miserable person like him or her. If they treat you (a stranger performing a kind service for them) badly, they probably maltreat others or everyone too. This sort of stress will eventually kill them, but not you.|||I'm an introvert and am not naturally very talkative to people in public, however I try to be as accurate, knowledgeable, and helpful as I'm humanly capable. I'm still not very talkative, but I make sure I know what I'm talking about and try to give the best service/advice that I can. Either way though, I guess I'm not there to try and be anyone's buddy and chat, it's just business. I used to be worse, but I try and make an effort and smile and respond to chit-chat, but I used to be a blank slate, poker-face. I don't know why I'm like that, I'm super friendly otherwise. People have never really hassled me that much on the past, I guess I don't look like the kind of person one would hassle.

When I'm patroning a business, I tend to keep quiet and just stick to the task at hand. I usually even get kind of annoyed when someone tries to chat me up. Oh, and I usually HATE sales-people! I'm the most difficult customer type, I'm the "I don't want to talk to you, but if I need help, you damn well better be there" type. I'm normally cool, but if someone comes at me pushy or trying to get up in mai bizness (being nosy), let's just say I've sent more than one person away with a proverbial wedgie! I'm equal opportunity too. I've had the "hot chick" sales women try to be pushy or nosy, and they think they can get away with more of that with me, but they learn quickly that they are mistaken.

Oh, and sorry Leo, I'm not really a smiler. I was getting groceries today, and the cashier asked if I ever smiled (she's like 50 and tries to flirt with me when I come through her line. She knows my mom too. O_o), and I told her I only smile when fun stuff is going on, and that this is just business. She said she smiles all the time so people will wonder what she's up to, and I responded that I don't smile cause I *don't* want people to wonder what I'm up to. |||Kind of a complicated question. This would apply more to people who need to deal with the public as opposed to an office job or something of the sort, where you can just sit there in your own little hate bubble and nobody needs to know about it.



For example, I care very little about my job and the quality of my work. The work is repetative and boring, my co-workers are dense, the workload is unreasonable, and the company is poorly managed. (But the money is good so I put up with it) Occasionally I will need to deal with a client, but I don't sit there with a hateful look on my face, telling them how much I hate my job, being snappy, etc etc. I'm proper and polite, I answer any questions they may have, then I thank them for their time and get on with my day.



I don't find it hard to do because I don't need to do it often, therefore it's not a big deal to fake the happiness for a little while. If I needed to deal with the general public on a daily basis, yeah I'd probably be an a**hole (for lack of a better word). Mainly because people are stupid, and the customer isn't always right.|||Quote:








however I try to be as accurate, knowledgeable, and helpful as I'm humanly capable. I'm still not very talkative, but I make sure I know what I'm talking about and try to give the best service/advice that I can.




EXACTLY! this is what i am partly talking about because, apparently, not a lot of people do this. i think it was yesterday or Monday i had a customer ask me something about oil paintings and clear gloss gel, i can't remember verbatim, but it was a question i really did not know the answer to. so i told her, "I don't paint and im not sure, but i can find someone who would know the answer." and she politely declined, said she wasn't going to worry about it and get stuff next time.

if it's something "weird" like that, i have no idea. something like, "What can i put in my paint to make it flexible?" then i can show them that product. "Do you have one for oils?" reply: "Maybe? i'm not too sure, let me go ask someone and then get back to you." so while not totally knowledgeable, at least im honest and try to find help until that customer is satisfied. apparently, some people would lie and be like, "Sure! Here is something that does not work and might possibly **** your picture up!"

i may not know a whole lot about the stuff i sell, but im learning fast(ish) and feel i am picking up.


Quote:




Oh, and sorry Leo, I'm not really a smiler. I was getting groceries today, and the cashier asked if I ever smiled (she's like 50 and tries to flirt with me when I come through her line. She knows my mom too. O_o), and I told her I only smile when fun stuff is going on, and that this is just business. She said she smiles all the time so people will wonder what she's up to, and I responded that I don't smile cause I *don't* want people to wonder what I'm up to.




XD you are being hit on by a cougar! XD eh... idk. just be polite and im okay with that. i might make small chat by complimenting your band shirt or something, but it's just automatic for me to smile when i greet you and when you leave.

and whoever talked about the muscles around the eyes when you smile.... yeah, um... i have creases under my eyes already because i smile often. O.O so much so that they just close whenever i do smile. XD

i guess as long as the job gets done right, you're as knowledgeable as you can be, and customer is satisfied, sall gouda. and it is easy to spot a fake... my brother said i was fake once, but he knows me better than a complete stranger! hey, at least i don't look like a Stepford Wife!|||I'm usually nice, although I don't smile a whole lot, especially if it's work related and we're talking about a job that needs to be done or hammering down the specifics of what needs to be done.

However I also do smile, laugh and joke with the people I sense that will appreciate it, as it makes getting the job done that much smoother. Basically when greeting a person, I'll smile and shake his/her hand before getting down to the nitty gritty details, which is when I don't really smile that much. During that time some jokes might come up, or towards the end of the conversation we get side-tracked a bit just for the sake of conversation and keeping things friendly.



However it's quite easy for me to do this, since more or less every single person I talk to is grateful for either hearing my voice (on the phone) or meeting me in person. Guess working at an IT department where people rely on you to get their job done helps with that. Also my co-workers are awesome, and while the workload might be a bit much at times, we manage by helping eachother out, exchanging thoughts and ideas while having time for jokes to make the day easier.

The pay is pretty decent as well, which is always a got motivation. xD



With that said, we do have people who are rude to us, maybe because they expected more from us (response time and/or how the job was executed etc), but those are pretty rare for me at least, so it's easy to put up a fake facade and get over with it. Besides we tend to share those experiences with eachother, then depending on the nature of it, laugh at the encounter or just call it a case of bad luck. >_>



On my free time though, I rarely smile, unless I see friends or people I know. At stores I try to be friendly, having worked at a grocery store myself. I may not smile, but at least I'll not be rude and try my best to look content while being friendly to the workers there.

Gues the TLR version would be that I rarely encounter rude people during my job, and I deal with rude/obnoxious people by sharing (and laughing) it off afterwards with co-workers/friends.|||I expect people to pretend to care

but nobody actually cares|||The problem with most customer service now is no one wants to take responsibility for a mishap or misinformation. But that is the mentality of people now. "I lost my house" it is the fault of someone else and not the one who took on a mortgage they simply could not afford. "I had to declare bankruptcy" it is the fault of someone living beyond their means with exception for medical bills. Most just want to blame someone else.

In customer service once responsibility is owned the explosive issue ends. What customers hate the most is blaming someone else and getting the run-around. That irritates me more than anything when I have an issue with a company.|||Quote:








In customer service once responsibility is owned the explosive issue ends. What customers hate the most is blaming someone else and getting the run-around. That irritates me more than anything when I have an issue with a company.




Getting the run-around when you work for that company is about ten times worse. Not only is the customer jumping down your throat, but you can't get a straight answer from the people that you know for certain are responsible for whatever the customer is complaining about. On top of that, your supervisors become unhappy because the customer is unhappy. You get responsibility for the problem by default because "the customer called you and pushing responsibility onto others is poor customer service."