Judgment-Free Zone, Except for the Guy at the Desk
What is costs to be pleasant for 8 hours
Working customer service can be dehumanizing at times.
I won’t lie and say I have it as bad as those at a hotel lobby or a Walmart return desk. Half of my week I work at a gym. Most of our customers are already members. They walk in. Scan their code. And go on their day. Mostly perfectly happy.
But even then sometimes you just have that bad day.
So here’s what’s on my mind lately.
About a month ago we hired a new girl to help out in the mornings. I didn’t get a good introduction to her as my shift comes an hour or two after she leaves but the few times I ran into her, she seemed quiet and nice enough.
Cue about 2 weeks ago.
I head into work and the shift before me gives me a heads-up that the new girl has quit and she left a scathing email to HR. So I did what anyone else would do: load up Outlook and take a little lookie-poo.
HR had forwarded her correspondence to my manager. It basically read something like this. “My opening coworker claims our manager sucks and does nothing. She has caused a terrible toxic workplace and I am completely appalled that she refuses to respect those above her”.
Man, I was the one appalled.
I asked the other coworker what happened. She stated quite clearly “Yes, she asked how we like management and working here. I told her the truth. Our boss seems like a nice guy but he makes many of the women here uncomfortable and does absolutely none of his work tasks.”
I feel as if that’s not an out-of-the-ordinary thing to say as a low-wage customer service worker. Hell, even many of our own members have come up to the desk to completely shit talk our new manager in a much ruder fashion than my coworkers relaying his laziness to a new hire.
But hey, whatever.
Now let’s move on up to this week. My now former coworker who had quit comes in to work out. She has a paid account. No problem. She walks behind the desk as if she still works here and drops off her backpack. Uhhhh…okay. Whatever. Sometimes I let members I’m friendly with do the same. We’re pretty lenient. We like to act as if we’re friends with everyone. Foster an inviting environment. I forget about it.
Towards the end of her workout she hovers around the desk. Making a face that only I can describe as “looking down on you”. She complains and complains about how this gym sucks, the employees don’t respect authority, how we should be doing things as if she has been with the company for decades and knows what is right.
I’m floored. It’s truly bizarre. But wait, there’s one more thing, I think you’re gonna love it!
She wanted to go tanning. Okay. I ask her what room she wants and for how long. She gives me this scouring dirty look and says “You better not put me in a dirty room again, you guys keep putting me in dirty rooms”
Huh!?
Tanning is heavily regulated by the state. It’s the law. We have an entire cleaning procedure and we do NOT slack on that. I promise her that I won’t. I had just cleaned the room she wanted, set the timer and sent her back. I go about my day and help our some other members at the desk. I’m a bit swamped, it’s an early afternoon rush on a Saturday and I’m the only one working for a few hours. Not a biggie. It keeps me occupied and passes the time.
Out of the corner of my eye I see her. Standing there. Hands on her hips. Huffing and puffing. I ignore it and continue helping the members at the desk. I notice one of my regulars eyeing her and making a face like “oh, here we go, a Karen”.
I turn to her. Ask her if I can help her. “THAT ROOM IS NOT SANITIZED. I KNOW WHEN A ROOM HAS BEEN SANITIZED”.
I sigh and walk back to the tanning room with her. I grab the bottle and some paper towels and spray down the entire booth and scrub it on my knees while she stands over me. Oooof. I want to say something so bad but I don’t need HR in my ear. It’s not worth it. I clean the booth again a second time for her while she watches. The last thing she says to me before I head back to the desk.
“Heehee, I don’t mean to be a bitch but you know, I don’t work here anymore if you don’t know already, I don’t trust you guys”
I giggle uncomfortably, wish her a happy tan and go hide in the break room until she leaves.
WEW LAD. What a strange experience. I’ve had my fair share of Karen types looking down on me and treating me unwell, but a former coworker who is “on my level”? That’s a new one.
I of course had to update the group chat with my coworkers about what happened. You know I must gossip.
Look, I won’t be treating her rudely or giving her any attitude. That’s not me. And it looks bad on the business but sometimes you just REALLY want to be rude back. But alas, I will nod and smile. Kill them with kindness.
Anyways, if you’ve worked in a customer service setting before and have some stories, feel free to share here or tap the comments drop down menu below.
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