BTOTD: On Perspective

I’ve always thought that everyone should work retail at least once in their life, if only to experience the humiliation and indignation of being uninformed and unimpowered and constantly reminded of both by the thankfully minor (but unfortunately loud) portion of the population that thinks shopping is a life or death situation. Once you’ve worked in customer service, you really have no choice but to act somewhat reasonable towards others in the field. Constant interaction with strangers–pleasant, angry, or otherwise–is not any easy job.

I’ve done this. I’ve worked retail. I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly. But with one month of professional customer service under my belt, I’ve decided to add a caveat to my mantra: In addition to working retail, everyone should be required to spend a week or two in a third world situation. Because it has come to my attention that what this world needs is not love – although love is nice and it certainly decreases the number of angry phone calls and hang ups I receive – but perspective.

To put it succinctly, if you are not dialing 911, your problem is not an emergency. Therefore, you are probably going to have to take a number and it’s probably not number two. But rather than camp out on my soapbox, I thought I’d offer a few insights and tips about the overall world of customer service–good or bad–and how to navigate the ropes with as little collateral damage as possible.

1. As emotionally upsetting as your situation may be, don’t editorialize. Most of the people you speak to won’t be involved or responsible, and even if they are, they won’t care. They might be heartless, but most likely they just don’t want your baggage. Also, they’ve heard it all before. (Water off a duck’s back, baby!) Be persistent, but stick to the facts.

2. Be willing to accept that you may be wrong, especially if it’s a situation you’ve never dealt with before or a subject you don’t know a lot about. If it’s not your job, the customer service rep probably knows more than you. Trust me, humble pie tastes better when it’s warm. If you’re wrong, own up to it quickly.

3. It’s okay to ask to speak to a manager, but go up the company rope, one by one, even if it takes time. If you try and jump rank, no one will know what you’re talking about and you’ll annoy the higher-ups who try and stay out of the details. Stick with the people who deal with your situation on a day-to-day basis. They’re the ones most able and likely to help.

4. Stay calm, cool, and collected. If I want drama, I’ll watch Lifetime. Hanging up or getting mouthy does not impress me and it does not help you. If you’re a repeat offender, don’t think word won’t get around. Talking about the crazies makes for great water cooler conversation.

5. If you feel like you’re stuck in a merry-go-round of transferred phone calls or emails, don’t take it personal. Many large companies are spread across multiple locations and have a high turnover rate. People may genuinely not know who should handle your concern.

6. And finally, if a company or business has a history of treating you this way, take your business elsewhere! You’re not going to change the company culture while swinging through their electronic phone directory, but money does talk. And if you have no choice but to do business with the company, join the club. I hate Comcast too. ;)

What do you think? Have you worked in customer service before? Did it change the way you treat others? Do you have any thoughts to add?

Date Night No. 3: North A-ton

This weekend, we had less of a date night and more of a date weekend, which I will take over the former just about every time. Saturday morning we ran the usual gamut of errands and chores, but by mid-afternoon we’d had enough of that. Drew had yet to see the neighborhood where I work, so we took a rare weekend bus trip up to my M-F neck of the woods – his first trip into the wilds of Northern Arlington.

Showing off while waiting for the bus. ;) I got an iPhone from work, so I've been working on my Instagram skillz. Poor Drew has to put up with being my constant subject.

We didn’t go into my office, but we did walk around the building so I could show him all its vital amenities - Starbucks, CVS, etc. (Have I mentioned I’ve made it my sad, new personal goal to earn a Starbucks Gold Card? Everyone and their mother has them here. I feel so left out.) After that, we took a quick turn through Crate & Barrel. I’ve been window shopping for a reasonably-priced/awesome living room rug for several months and came so close to finding one here. The Barker Rug in Blue matches our living room perfectly AND is on sale. The only problem? It doesn’t come in 5x7. And even if I had $400 to drop on a rug, 6x9 is way too large. (And 4x6 is way too small.) Figures.

So instead we bought three porcelain condiment spoons for $1 a pop, promised ourselves we’d hit up the C&B Outlet in Old Town for more rugs on the cheap, and went on our merry way. J

For dinner, we came ‘this close’ to buying shrimp po’ boys from a purple food truck parked outside of The Container Store (aka OCD“R”Us), but something about buying seafood from a truck gave us the willies and we ended up at Baja Fresh instead. While I’m all about supporting quirky eateries on wheels, I’m not big on Cajun food. Fresh pico and over sized burritos will win me over any day.

War of the iPhone cameras.

We finished off the night with an exciting game of “Can We Make it to the Next Bus Stop Before the Bus Drives By?” (Answer? Yes, until we chickened out and camped out on a bench next to someone’s Astin Martin parked on the street. Egads! Why don’t you just put a sign on it that says “HIT ME!”) and a Redbox-sponsored viewing of Captain American as part of my post-Avengers education. (Better than Thor, but still not as good as Iron Man.) We did stop by the C&B Outlet on the way home from church Sunday, but still no dice. The great living room rug search continues!

Costs

Ceramic Condiment Spoons x3 = $3

Baja Fresh = $17(ish. Drew has the receipt, but I know it was $16-something.)

Total = $20

Budget=$20

Overage=$0!!!

Yay! Not counting $6 in bus fares–we both get commuting stipends from work, so we’ll just roll it into that–we finally stayed on budget.

Top 100 Ways I Know I Married the Right Man: No. 75

75. He'll sprint 1/4 mile in 200% humidity just to walk with me to my bus stop. :-*

This week is so crazy hot, I feel like this one should be in the Top Ten!

Top 100 Ways I Know I Married the Right Man: No. 76

76. When he finds my Tom Kundig book buried in our bookshelves, he instantly forgets what he's doing - in this case, rearranging the router wires - loses himself in the book, and (176 pages later) declares that someday we must commission a Kundig house. Noted. Hopefully, we won't have to move to the West Coast for one. ;)

Date Night No. 2: The Avengers

This week we split Date Night into two separate events. And kind of went over budget again. But like last week, it was totally not our fault. Let me explain.

Friday night, we walked down to Shirlington, sat on a bench, and split a gigantic hazelnut iced latte from Caribou Coffee. Drew refers to this bench as "the bus stop," because it's ridiculously close to the side of the road on a sharp, 90 degree turn. It's not the best spot in Shirlie for people watching, but it's definitely the best spot for car spotting. Strangest/Most Wrong car of the night? The shiny, brand new, $100,000+ Mercedes G Class SUV, aka the Land Cruiser/hearse love child. If you want to spend a small fortune on a car, fine, but at least spend it on a pretty one that doesn't scream "drug dealer/desert explorer wannabe!" (Unless, of course, you are one. Then by all means…)

Saturday morning, we took advantage of 'matinee pricing' and went to see The Avengers before it leaves the big screen. (Drew's choice, but I did want to see it. I even watched Iron Man 2 and Thor in preparation. :) This is where I messed up the monies.

Originally, I was going to buy our tickets on Fandango. They sell matinee tickets for $9.50 each (!!!) which, combined with a $3 coupon I got for following them on Twitter, would bring the price of two tickets down to $16. Now, I was under the impression (supported by a very thorough Google search) that Fandango prices include a surcharge, so I decided to save my coup for a hard-to-buy-tickets situation and buy the (presumably) cheaper tickets at the theater. This gave us a little extra money for our latte on Friday.

Except the Fandango prices didn't include a surcharge. At least not this time. The tickets were $9.50 a pop, plus a $1 donation to charity, for a total of $20 even. (Side Note: Why don't they pass the Jimmy Fund bucket around anymore? It was kind of annoying at the time, but now I kind of miss the ad where the iron workers spray-painted all the kids' names on the steel. So presh.) Begrudgingly paying $9.50 for a 2-D, on-it's-way-to-DVD movie makes me feel old. I think it's time we find a second run theater…

Regardless, The Avengers was great. Tony Stark remains my personal hero. Thor continues to get on my nerves. Drew and I spend a good amount of time this weekend discussing the Norton/Ruffalo controversy. Nerdy fun was had by all.

Cost

Gigantic Hazelnut Iced Latte from the Best Chain Coffee Shop Ever: $5

Movie Tickets x2: $19

Charity Donation: $1
The sense of dogoodery born of writing our name on a paper star: Priceless

Total = $25

Budget: $20

Drew's Pocket Cash: $2.50 :(

Sarah's Pocket Cash: $2.50 :(

After two weeks of 'money trouble,' I am starting to think we need to up our budget to $25. Or does that defeat the purpose of having a budget to begin with? Or are we just having too much fun?

Date Night No. 1: Johnny Rockets

Now that I'm working and deprived of the inspirational energy that comes from sleeping past five, Drew and I are consciously trying to plan at least one Date Night a week. There's only one catch: a $20 budget. Difficult? Yes, but trying to stay under the limit is kind of a fun game. :)

For our inaugural evening, we walked down to Johnny Rockets for some burgers, fries, and the ever-thrifty-but-rarely-exciting water. Once there however, Mr. C couldn't resist the call of the Mr. Pibb - in his defense, they seated us right next to the soda fountain - so he sprung for two sodas from his pocket cash. (Usually, we go old-people-school and share one, but he's a little under the weather right now. I'm trying to pass on the cooties!)

Awww...so cute. Even when he's sick. :-*

While we waited for our food, I serenaded him with a song from the jukebox. My choice? "Barbara Ann," by The Beach Boys. Long story. Inside joke. Nevertheless, much appreciated by the huz. ;)

The food was delish and treated me the way Johnny Rockets always does - that is to say, not well - but our somewhat scary/intense waitress gave us cheeseburgers instead of hamburgers, which threw off our budget a smidge. (It's amazing how those little things suddenly matter!)

On the way home, Drew saved me from stepping on a snake - my hero! (Centi-/milli-/anything-with-more-than-four-leg pedes and snakes are really the only creepy crawlies that give me the willies.) I was too busy yapping to see the enormous garter snake warming itself on the sidewalk. Whoops. (Subconsciously, I think I just assumed it was a crack in the concrete or something. ;)

Here's our budget breakdown:

Food+Tip=$26.37

Jukebox=$.05

Total=$26.42

Budget=$20.00

Drew's Soda Money=$4.93

My Jukebox Money=$.05

The Unintentional Cheese on the Burgers=$1.44

Not too shabby for a first go! What about you? What have you been up to this weekend?