Experiences with Service Oriented Jobs

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I worked doing phone surveys for a month in the summer before my senior year of high school. It was pretty crappy work, but I managed to stay with it until school started. The most annoying part had to be this, which happened 15 times a day: Someone would answer, and then yell at me because they were on the "Do not call list". Then I had to tell them that the company I was working for did not apply to that law, because we don't sell anything.
I had 3 friends who also started working there. 2 of them quit after a couple weeks. It also sucked, because I had to work until 10 most nights. If you call people after 9pm their time, they get really testy. 8:55 is ok, but 9:01? God forbid! California seemed to be the exception here. Almost everyone there was willing to take a 40-minute political survey at 9:00 at night.

I also worked at college football games a year later. This was at the country's loudest stadium (college OR professional). During one of the games I worked at, they recorded a loudness of 127.2db. To give you a comparison, "the front rows of a rock concert" is measured at about 110db. That job really sucked, because of how loud it was and all the stupid/unruly/drunk people. Usually I had to scan tickets for 3 hours, and then stand in the stadium looking up at the audience for another 5 hours.

This week I have an interview for a fast food place. Call me crazy, but that actually sounds like a nice break!

If someone could just tell me what it IS I hate about fast food work as a manager, I could do it! I just want to know why I hate it, then I think I could get perspective and deal with it.Today the woman at work asked me 'It's too much?' the work. After telling them I had managed stores before, I really felt like a frickin failure and her tone of voice was sad when I said I don't think I can take the job 'why??" she said in that terrible voice that makes you feel even more like crap.

I feel like absolute dirt now because, after being unemployed for the better part of one year, I told the manager today that I need more money before I accept a management position in fast food hell. And it is hell.. smelly ( I nearly threw up) so loud, busy even when no customers are there ( i sense the atmosphere) , I need a doctor to give proper diagnosis so I can get some disability money and end this hell of 22 long years .

food service is just a thankless job, i think, in part because most people find it hell, and most people who patronize food service establishments are UNGRATEFUL SELFISH CLODS (thank you mr. shaw)

they don't say thank you, they expect everything, they want special changes, they make beyond reasonable messes, they soil the bathrooms, they get drunk, they tip horribly.

i worked at a restaurant in the kitchen for a while, grateful i didn't have to go out in the dining room, i didn't have to look that nice (i could wear a messy-ish apron!).. the women servers had to wear a stupid uniform with a skirt.

the reason i quit was stupid politics. and frustration because i reached some limit in personal relationships.

which leads me...

i am trained as a yoga teacher, and i LOVE teaching yoga. it is the opposite of the hell job. but, to make extra money, i'm doing reception at one of the studios i teach at. the main thing is yes, multi-tasking. and i cannot understand people who don't speak clearly. i cannot hear someone and enter something in the computer or make change at the same time. it's a flurry of activity and it seems like clonazepam and making sure i'm nourished well enough, with protein are the two things that help me get by.

that, and the fact that i LOVE yoga.

but unless you LOVE coffee, or garlic bread or greek salad, how can your passion for what you do overcome the deficits presented by sensory processing or other monotracking issues?

all that said, im not sure my passion for what i do can really overcome my deficits. i have been at the reception thing for 2 months. in general i feel my relationship with this employer waning. i'm not entirely sure why.. that's for another thread.

Hello Anneurysm (good nickname!),

I've done quite a few jobs like that. I've worked as a volunteer day camp counselor, served hot and cold food (and beer) behind concession stand counters, sold things over the phone (to individuals and companies), taken surveys over the phone (ditto), worked retail in a computer bookstore and collected debts, among other things.

Multitasking is a major issue with me as well. Monotracking has caused me grief especially in retail and similar work, where customers want to be served right away and don't always care that you're in the middle of something else.

That said, I don't blame the bosses who ask people to multitask - time, after all, is money. On the one hand, studies are showing that multitasked work is often not done as well as monotracked. On the other hand, sometimes the people who sign your paycheck (directly or indirectly) would rather have it done right now than perfectly a week, a day or even an hour from now. As General Patton is supposed to have said: "A good solution applied with vigor now is better than a perfect solution applied ten minutes later.”

That said, there are good, not so good and totally unacceptable ways for supervisors to drive this point (and other points, such as about punctuality and making sure everything gets done)home. Yelling and verbal abuse is wrong (albeit it does vary by local standards; a business office is generally more genteel than a kitchen or a construction site).

This goes for teachers, too - and I've had more than a few who hated my guts and let everyone know it. I'm very sorry about your experiences with teachers. I don't know about Canada, but in the U.S., more than a few teachers come from the half (of their college classes) that made the top half possible, if you get my meaning.

Anywhere, anytime, hitting is absolutely, positively unacceptable, not to mention illegal. It's assault and battery, and people go to jail for that.

These jobs seem to be the easiest ones to get because increasingly the "backroom" jobs are being outsourced. Employers are realizing that if it can be solved from across the hall, it can be solved from across town, across the country...and across the globe. The jobs that stay in the First World, as far as I can tell, are predominantly those which involve solving people's problems face to face.

If I may give one other tip, to whoever could use it: if you quit a job, try to do it in person. Give them a resignation letter, saying only that you are leaving and what date your last day will be. If you're in the U.S., custom dictates (unless you have a labor contract that says differently) that you give two weeks' notice. (Of course, if you have a compelling reason such as that your mother just got in an accident and is hospitalized and you need to attend to her, and long-term unpaid leave is out of the question, then quitting immediately may be understandable.)

Even if the people there were horrible, stick to the fact that you're leaving and when. Don't discuss any negative stuff even if they're completely wrong. (And that holds true if they have an exit interview too - even if they ask you if you have any complaints, don't give any. Treat it as an attitude test.) Remember, anyone who wants to hire you in future is likely to talk to them first.

Good luck Anneurysm!

I worked some service jobs. They maxed and stressed me out but I needed a job or at least pretend I want money. They discouraged my work ethic early on and I grew a resentment towards employment.

Employers require multitasking because people can do it and are willing to do it for dirt cheap. THerefore as a customer I now demand it when I pay for something.

NT's have trouble too with this. My wife worked as a waitress at Denny's before asking to go to the kitchen. Even with a loss in tip money she saw she would not keep it for long even though its N.T.

I would advise to go to school but it did not help me in this economy.

Sometimes in life you have to be cynical and suck it up. Yes it is unprofessional if people yell at you but it is your job and you do it. THe customer is always right. I worked in a place once where a manager can come to help as long as you are polite back. The manger asked the customer if it would be ok if I went in his office and yelled at him. He was shocked but I guess people feel entitled and view service workers as lesser beings and not professionals. At least the experience teaches us not to become like these people. Especially this is true when we work our way up.

If you can at least get an associates and learn to type and use MS Office you can work entry level jobs in the office. There are social skills required but at least you do not have that extreme pressure and you will typically get paid more. An associates is really not hard. I was told I would never go to college and I successfully got a bachelors.

Hello Tim,

First off, congratulations on your degree! It's not a good idea to tell someone he'll never do something, among other things because he may prove you wrong.

I know what you mean about unprofessional customers. IME, customers go by a bell curve. The great mass screw up once in a while and cause you inconvenience but they don't mean it, some a especially considerate and a few are just plain jerks or even mean.

You may be right about office jobs. They have pressures of their own; on the other hand you probably won't have people coming at you one after the other all day.

Good luck to you and your wife, Tim!

This was a summer job. I'm currently in University, but it's SO hard to find a job as you're working through university and don't have a lot of experience under your belt. Being a psychology major, I applied for some daycare/early childhood education positions: one of which I almost got. Still, even those are hard to come by.

This isn't an issue of "sucking it up". I couldn't in this job because of my difficulties multitasking, my anxiety, and being "monotrack". Believe me, I sucked it up for two months before I blew my fuse. There were many times during my period of work there, even within the first month, when I wanted to quit.

This is an issue of a company being completely misleading with their attitudes towards their workers, especially of those with disabilities. I felt duped and misguided.

Hi anneurysm,

You're certainly right in that while in life you just have to suck it up sometimes, certain things you just can't suck up - particularly if you're an Aspie or have another kind of disability. The trick, of course, is recognizing that boundary...and pushing the envelope to the greatest extent.

I'm a little confused and I wonder if I've misinterpreted you. You listed your difficulties multitasking and being "monotrack" as if they were separate factors. I thought monotrack meant finding it hard to multitask. Could you clear that up for me please?

In what way did the employer(s) mislead you? This sounds like a serious situation.

Last but not least, have you considered applying at a retail store or temporary agency for seasonal work as a stock clerk or the like? I understand how serving customers/front-of-house work could be problematic for you. Many places also need people to maintain their paperwork or inventory during the holiday shopping rush. Or maybe you can help the accounting clerks keep proper records and count the cash receipts.

What do you think?

They're the same thing, I was just describing the same phenomenon in different words.



It wasn't intentional, but their application form stated numerous times that they did not discriminate against those with disabilities and that they were a supposed "equal opportunity employer".

In a way, it was my fault...I had no idea what the job entailed, and I didn't reveal anything about my anxiety until after problems started occurring. As well, I had the assumption that this was a pretty simple job due to the fact that I was employed alongside kids that were still in high school. It wasn't.



I did well at serving customers, but NOT when they asked me immediately to take on other complex duties (I.E you're making sandwiches and then someone yells at you immediately to go to the drive-thru). I did best when doing only one task per shift, and did the worst when I was switching tasks.

My friends have suggested grocery and retail stores, which I could see working for me. They're a lot more low key and are less reliant on speed and efficiency. I would likely do well as a simple cash-out clerk where I just ring things through. Stocking and back-room positions, however, are never really advertised on their own, but as part of the duties of the cashier.

As well, I've been applying for all of the positions I can get my hands on: I pass out resumes, cover letters, the whole shebang.
However, I never get any callbacks, likely because my limited retail/cash experience irks employers.

I'm curious about temp agencies though: I've never gone to one as of yet as I'm not really sure what they do. How do they work?