I have had a variety of customer service jobs throughout my working life. While each taught me different things about the industry itself, they all shared common lessons that bettered me as a person.

Patience

For anyone that has ever worked in customer service, "the customer is always right" is a familiar phrase. You would also know that this is not true. People do not always realize what they are doing, or maybe they do, but patience is key when helping customers. The more patience you have, the easier the day is for both you and the customer.

Manners

Another thing you pick up on are all the little things you can do to help make a transaction more seamless, both on your end and on the customer's end. I learned how to make a checkout experience as painless as possible, and how to be a good customer outside of work. There are a lot of bad jokes that customers like to make that really should be avoided at all costs.

Better Conversationalist

Shifts at work tend to be boring when no human interaction is involved. Working in customer service helps you develop the ability to make conversation with literally anyone. Not only is this great for someone like me who grew up deathly shy, it makes for good networking skills outside of being a cashier.

Less Afraid to Ask Questions

Sometimes you just do not know the answer to a question or how to do something, and that is totally okay. There are always people in your life available to answer questions, whether it be your parents or your manager and working in customer service helps you learn not to be afraid to ask them. It is okay not to know everything, and it does not make you annoying to ask for help.

Working in customer service teaches important life lessons that cannot always be put into words. It gives you respect for people in those positions and makes you a better client. Everyone should have a customer service job and learn these lessons.