At 16 years old, my ultimate goal was to get a job. Some young teenagers can argue that getting a job was not a thought in their minds because they'd rather focus on getting the license or hanging out with friends, but for me, getting my first job was imperative. I began working at Dunkin' Donuts a few months later, beginning my journey in customer service and in the working world as a whole.
I recall my first negative encounter with a rude and angry customer, in which, at the time, was enough to make me burst into tears. As I handled her, her freshly made cappuccino that was by no means sub par, she went about handing me her change to pay for her order. Before even being able to address her and even say a simple "hello," it was already a negative energy that I could feel through the drive thru window glass.
"Can I get a senior discount?" the lady says
"Of course, Ma'am" I answer back, politely
She hands me her 20 dollar bill, which gives me the right away to put it in the register and go about giving her the correct change, but unfortunately, she decides to hand me extra change to make the bills even, leaving me puzzled because not only am I new, but quick math in the moment sometimes can be frustrating and pressure filled.
I try to make her transaction quick and do the math as quick as possible, but the customer has already come about calling me "stupid" over a dozen times, and overall questioning my worth and intelligence.
My 16 year old sensitive skin became increasingly thicker as the years went on, and I started to not let things get to me like that first situation did.
I had learned that working in a customer service job requires patience, stepping outside of yourself and how badly you may feel sometimes to please a customer. We, customer service employees, deal with physical brunt and mental. Often, we are treated sometimes even less than human.
My Dunkin' Donuts job is my stepping stone, a great fit for me right now as I work for my degree. I can thank this job for being a consistency throughout high school and even now. I feel as though it's important that outside people are aware that because a person of any age work at a customer service job with an hourly wage, they are NOT less than human, or lesser of a person than you. No matter if you make this type of job your career, or you are employed there to get to a degree or license or some other type of promotion, people must understand that you are just as human as them. Even when i'm finally done with my degree and have achieved the career I sought after, I will always appreciate those that serve me my daily morning coffee, or quick lunch after a long morning of work.
On that note, please do thank your food, retail, or any service workers, and remember that it can sometimes take lots of convincing to face the public everyday with fear of negative encounters and extreme feet ache.(ouch.) We are more than happy to serve you when you are kind, even on our worst days.
But don't make us want to pull our hair out...and then yours.
