Thinking things thru'

Recently, I have been through and experienced it for myself that not everyone is suitable to work in the line of service industry. It is not easy to satisfy everyone you come across when one is in this line. In addition, one will always have to remember to keep a smile on his/her face even when posed with a difficult situation.

Customers are rude. Especially Singaporeans. Yet, we kept complaining that there is some sort of difference when people from the line of service industry attend to us than to some foreigners. This is the labeling theory of deviance. A label where Singaporeans have been labeled to be rude and demanding when being compared to the foreigners.

I have been in the line of service industry as a promoter a couple of years back. Now, here I am again, back in the same line as a sales associate (a.k.a. cashier), enjoying myself.

Just a few days back, at around 9pm, I attended to a customer (a father who was paying for his daughter's stuff) who was really understanding. I guess by the look on my face (even when I have already tried my best to stay cheerful and look alive), he knew that I was really shag and he asked if I have had a long day. So I told him that I started work since 10.30am and he was caught by surprise. After hearing that, he kept encouraging me and wished for me to have a very good night rest. If only all customers were like him...

On the very next day, as I was helping my colleague (at the next cashier), this customer (a mother with a small boy) was really rude. She insisted that she brought over 10 similar items, but I counted that there were only nine items there. After my colleague processed the transaction with this customer, her son suddenly picked up one item from the floor. Guess what? The customer scolded us for being stupid as we dropped an item on the floor. But, hey! I am innocent, alright? I just came over to help my colleague pack all the items into the bag. I did not even know what was happening before that. Anyway, all I did was to shake my head. That customer was really... It might perhaps even be her son who dropped that one item on the floor! But, forget it. Customers are always right~ What's more is that this company I am working for really treat their customers as VIPs.

Apart from customers, we will also have the senior sales associates, supervisors and managers to "service" for. Some were friendly, while some were really at the extreme. Lucky for me that I was being posted to the Nursery Department instead of the Toys Department. As a result, I was being taken care of by auntie Ally, auntie Doris, auntie Adeline and uncle Leong, while my colleague from the Toys Department was feeling lost.

As I was saying right at the beginning that not all people are suitable to work in the line of service industry. I said so as not all of us are able to find happiness while making others happy at the same time. Some might even complaint that this line was such a pain that they would rather work for some other bigger scale projects.

Perhaps things work both ways. I admit that I do not find any joy in working with machines than working with people. I thought it was fun to interact with others and observe their behaviors. Oh well, maybe that applies only to me (*grins*).

At the bottom line, I would want to say that it is not easy to be working in the line of service industry. We have to face a few hundred different people everyday and we are not robots, we are human too. We do have our own mood! We, like any other professions, are just trying to earn money (in my case, some extra pocket money). So to people who are reading this post, please, and I mean PLEASE, DO NOT BE SO MEAN AND DEMANDING OF US!!