I'm not meant to be working today, but any day which offers work is a good day to me. The regular manager has burnt her hand, so I'm giving a hand (sorry about the pun) by filling her seat for the day. The place where I'm doing some regular casual work is one of those storage places, where you rent a unit to store your goodies. Most customers are people moving house or tradespeople storing their equipment here.
There are quite a few stories in a place like this, many of them not happy ones. People going through divorces; tradies who have no work, can't pay their rental bill, can't get access to their tools (which are stored in the unit) which they need to earn money. Moving house is enough of a trauma anyway. Moving because you have no other choice is no fun at all.
I went through something like this when my family had to move out of our home. We couldn't afford the mortgage payments, so we rented a small 2 bedroom unit and rented out our house. The money we save has helped keep our heads afloat whilst my wife and I try to find some gainful employment. Apart from a blow to the ego (and no real quiet areas in the small unit we live in now), moving hasn't been that bad. The poor sods going through divorces or business failures are doing it tough.
I'm much more sympathetic to their plight now. Having had some personal experience does make a difference! I doubt that I would have felt the same way 10 years ago, when my financial situation was strong and I felt confident and invincible. I suppose that anything which makes you more humble is a good thing, and I feel more humble now than at any other time in my life. This might even be the onset of some wisdom - time will tell.
Some of the other people who work here aren't as sympathetic. It's understandable, but doesn't help either them, the business or the customer. I hear stories from clients about other staff who are rude, making demands for payment etc. I don't see that that is their job at all. They are not debt collectors, eventhough the employer does want us to chase people who are behind in their accounts. There are ways and means, though.
There are always going to be some clients who will lie and lie and lie about their reasons for not paying on time. It's not hard to realize who those people are after a while. They are also the ones who tend to get abusive and aggressive. These people are also very defensive. I mainly feel sorry for them. But, you do have to deal with them. I'm pretty friendly and approachable and find that that seems to work most of the time. If they are being a real pain, then I give them the facts they want and try to get them out of my face ASAP. This also seems to work.
Even quite a few of the pain-in-the-arse people realize that they are being a pain at the time. It's just they are having some grief (caused by the company you work for, or some private hassles) and you are in the wrong place at the wrong time. So it goes...
Young guys are especially prone to over-reacting in such circumstances. They feel that they are being personally attacked by this arsehole and react as such - not a pretty sight for anyone concerned. It's not an easy job, dealing with people who can be as bad-mannered and nasty as we can be ourselves. Yet, customer service jobs are typically lowly paid and not highly regarded, despite what the bullshit job ads keep telling you. A terrific person as the first point of contact with potential clients is priceless to any business. They will not be fully appreciated, despite their obvious qualities to the business' customers. What a shame.
Meantime, I've had quite a busy morning this morning. It's nice to be able to make some decisions for myself (without being micro-managed) and see some happy people leave this place. Stay well everyone.
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