The Adventures of Jessica Sideways

Having been on both sides of the counter, I know for a fact that customer service is, in fact, hell. In fact, I’ve also worked at a telephone service centre so I know what it’s like to get the people who have been put on hold as well as putting people on hold. Basically, this is just a fact in the sad state of customer service these days. While many companies embrace the automated phone systems which, while (I think) good-intentioned, cannot really help people. And of course, the pre-recorded advice that they have for you while on hold is hardly helpful, if ever. In addition, when you finally do get that special someone to talk to you - they ask you for the same details that you just gave the automated service and the last few people. And the sad part is that while this is not the fault of the person working behind the phone or counter, they are the ones that take the heat for it.

Behind the counter, you deal with asshole after asshole who wants perfection from you in a number of areas. This becomes even more curious especially considering how much the people behind the counter get paid. And this is even more ridiculous whenever someone demands perfect knowledge of the product - from someone who works at McDonalds. Hell, people who work at McDonalds don’t know jack shit - that’s why they work at McDonalds. Either that, or the fact that they are high school students and do not have the experience or education to get anything else. And if you see someone at that particular McDonalds for more than 2 years, then they are probably a high school dropout. Or maybe a person studying for their GED. The point is, when you are offering minimum wage to a person, the incentive to learn everything about the product line isn’t exactly as appealing as it is when you are making more than twice minimum wage.

Case in point, I once applied for a job at a restaurant in Houston named Katz’s. The job required that I study tomes and tomes of product details for a job that only paid $8.00 per hour and had absolutely no potential for tips (counter worker). After reading half of the first heavy tome, I said fuck this and tossed the tome aside. The next day, I came into work and they quizzed me on the tomes of information that I was required to read. I told them that I didn’t read them, didn’t care to read them and they couldn’t possibly have given me enough time to read them. I was terminated on the spot and I had to wait quite a while (like after receiving my W-2s in the mail) to get my paycheque. Needless to say, I have very little enthusiasm about that job and I doubt that I will ever work there again.

What they should have done was make up a required reading list and give people the opportunity to read all of it at their own pace. A good example would be the reading list of the Unitarian Universalist Association Ministerial Fellowship Committee, which is a list of all the papers and books that a Unitarian Universalist minister must read and take to heart to prepare for the interview with the UUA. Needless to say, it is quite expansive but I prefer this approach as it tells you what to read and if you are planning to become a UU minister, you have a few years to get all this reading and memorizing done. So, yeah, if you were going into a high-skill level job like being a UU minister, then I could see where all of these tomes and information would come in handy. But if you are just working as a counter person or a secretary or a phone operator - what use is any of this information to you?