Jobs in Customer Service

ismibrandy

New member
I have been in the customer service field for what seems like forever. I started in retail at Kmart. I actually kind of miss that job because if I needed to go scream somewhere, I could go into the back and scream my head off and nobody would know.

Now, I work for a company called N.E.W. and answer the phone all day getting yelled at by angry customers who want their computer fixed "yesterday". Then, after getting shouted at for a half hour, I have to sit with these people and troubleshoot over the phone and try to articulate what it is I want these people to do. Finally, I get them what they want after determining a hardware failure (service) and they aren't happy with the time frame for service or they aren't happy that their laptop needs depot repair so I get yelled at again.

I hate working in customer service. I sit at my desk thinking about jumping out the window and running away. My heart jumps every time the phone rings and I try not to cry. I'm so scared that the next call I get is going to be another angry person to yell at me.

My call handle times are through the roof. They're supposed to be at 600 seconds, but because I can never get a word in edgewise and have no clue how to settle people down they're at 1300 seconds. Everyone else at work is getting bonus pay, looks like they enjoy themselves and I'm the only one sitting here not getting bonuses, miserable, and scared out of my mind.::(:
 

philly2bits

Well-known member
I worked in costumer service for awhile. I feel burned out by it now. I am unemployed now and don't feel like I could go into costumer service anytime soon. It's really cutting down on possible jobs I could take.
 

dmdmm

Active member
I turned down a job that would be paying me around 100K a year on a two year degree just because of that reason. I could not deal with the people on a day in, day out basis. Plus, they considered it part time, and I would have been working around 60 hours a week.
 

Harleyq

Well-known member
I work in customer service. It sucks sometimes because as you've described, people take their frustrations out on you because you're the "representative", even if you didn't cause their problem. They need to yell at someone affiliated with their f-ck up and you're there, so you have to take it.

I wait tables. I don't make the prices. I don't make the rules. And I'm not a robot - when it's busy, I can only do so many things at one time and I can't always be at everyone's beck and call right when they "need" me. Some people don't understand this.

Whenever I can sense a difficult customer, my anxiety shoots through the roof and my natural instinct is to avoid them but alas...
 
I am going to put all my energy I can summon into re-training next year for something totally unrelated to customer service. It totally burnt me out too:(
 

Why

Well-known member
yeah i vow to never get a job dealing with the gen. pop, i am defintely not a people person

1st volunteer job: was cashier at a thrift store, it was ok i guess since wasnt a real job but some ppl pissed me off, like ppl who want to haggle over 50 cents = = and also old ppl.

2nd job: i was a cashier/helper at a bagel/coffee stand in college. This was not bad as well because the customers were 90% college students so they were chill. But sometimes super picky rude ppl would come and Id wanna punch them in the face.

now im a real estate assistant, only have to deal with my boss, thank goodness.
 

206Raider

Well-known member
I worked at a grocery store for awhile but hated it.....then I worked at a warehouse for awhile and hated it mostly becuase I am not a morning person and hated getting up at 4:30 AM, but I wish I would have kept that job, I only got scared becuase after 6 months they wanted to promote me (which is okay!) but the wanted to teach me how to drive these huge ass machines around all these 50 foot shelves and I did not want to be the cause of a giant massacre by running into a shelf and killing everybody lol. I know it was a long shot but I kept replaying it in my mind.
 
I've been in customer service for a while now, but it's not too bad. I think it has helped me a lot as far as dealing with people, but I do need to "get away" from it at times. Also, I'm not in a job where it's constant people, there are up and down times. I think I would go insane if I were dealing with the general public continuously.
 

reslo

Well-known member
Everyone I know who's worked in customer service hates it. My mom does it, gets cursed at everyday by people.
The couple jobs I worked at with customer service was in person, most of the people were really nice- that i dealt with and there were no problems. I got yelled at because our store didn't carry dustpans and I got yelled at because I didn't put enough cheese on someone's fries (different jobs) And I mean you can see the fire in people's eyes when they get mad about stuff- but it's like over stupid stuff? The customers I've had were nothing compared to the boss I had who liked to belittle my self esteem everyday. I mean, I think it's important to remember the good customers- ya know the one who had the easy problem, you've seen it a million times, you fixed it for them, and you were able to provide them with a service. I think that if your anxiety is affecting you at work, then that's definitely something to possibly bring up to a therapist. But also, talk to your co-workers a little bit, some of them may have little tips or tricks they use to sedate customers.

Also too, on the phone people say stuff they NEVER would say to your face. And every person who yells at you thinks they're the first one to do so. They think no one else has tried it. And they're not yelling at you- if a robot answered the phone, they would be yelling at it. Some of them may have anger management issues- so just be glad you don't know them in real life. Don't let them beat you up- you can't fix every problem in the world- you can only fix their equipment.

*gives ismibrandy a little stress ball* good luck!
 

Lorraine Manca

Well-known member
i worked at a retail store, worked the cash registers, and pushed credit aps, took calls for complaints. I will NEVER do it again. i am so sorry for anyone who has to put up with that.
 

FOR REAL

Banned
i worked in a store in kirkcaldy called rejects, and it was crap!
but one day before i got the sack, i had a half bottle of vodka, and 3 sweeties:D
so it was a good laugh that day
 

Lorraine Manca

Well-known member
i worked in a store in kirkcaldy called rejects, and it was crap!
but one day before i got the sack, i had a half bottle of vodka, and 3 sweeties:D
so it was a good laugh that day

so if half a bottle of vodka preceded getting sacked, im guessing thats cause and effect! im a smart girl, i quit before the manager could fire me. i couldnt get folks to apply for the silly credit cards!
 

PhantomPod

Well-known member
I work in customer service. It's alright, for the most part. Except when I get a difficult client and question it can be very aggravating and anxiety-ridden.

It's unreal when people call up acting like complete jerks. I have never called a customer service center and have acted that way when I needed help. It's so rude and it reflects on the poor quality of that person's character, it doesn't reflect on you in anyway.

I hate when clients call pushing for an answer or an update to their question (most questions are emailed in and take 24-48 hours as a turnaround time to research the data). They will be really adamant about needing an answer now and I'll be like, "unfortunately, this is still in research, I will let you know AS SOON AS I have more information to provide." Yet they'll still be acting like they need an answer NOW. It's like, wtf don't they understand!? Do they want me to pull a random answer out of thin air and just make something up or do they want a thoroughly researched and put together answer? Jeez.
 
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