High customer service demand, crappy pay, long hours and often strenuous work is not even the half of what retail workers have to put up with...on a good day and because of this retail is a place with a high turnover; faces come and go like a revolving door. I've seen a guy quit during his orientation, one girl quit mid shift because she was tired of being on her feet all day and for weeks no one could stop laughing about the cafe server who literally threw his apron off and said 'i'm not doing this shit anymore' as he was ringing up a customer. He then ran out of the store and returned months later to buy a gift for his girlfriend. Needless to say, it was awkward.
The point is I am used to new people and the dynamic one bring to the work place so much so that towards the end of my tenure as a bookseller, I stopped introducing myself to newbies. I am not proud of this but I am not in the business of lying either. This isn't to say that I was downright rude to new employees, I'd smile and introduce myself when a manager brought them around, i'd lie and say ' i was a person they could come to if they ever had questions' and then i'd smile, walk away and never interact with said new person again...unless they proved their staying power.
I was not particularly welcoming to new girls and new boys i remained distant and aloof towards. On many levels my attitude (which I only displayed during my last year at Le Sad Store) had much to do with the fact that it is very hard to do your job and train a person who may not last that long. The other and main factor however, which maybe no one is proud to admit, is that it's hard to welcome someone into a working social environment that for the most part has been established.
It took about a solid 6 months before I started making friends at the store. The first few months were hard because i didn't want to step on anyone's toes so I remained out of the way for the most part. I ate lunch alone, was really quiet and preferred browsing the aisle's instead of interacting with my co-workers. I eventually carved out my small little group to hang out with but but most of them soon got new jobs and moved. Over time (once I proved I wasn't going anywhere) relationships strengthened, a work flow was established and a routine both socially and 'professionally' just sort of came together. It was great. 6 years later I wasn't the new girl but someone with the job experience to do my job well, a trial and error experience with co-workers until I found 'my crew' and unfortunately the bad habit of being dismissive towards anyone knew who threatened to disrupt what wasn't broke. Sorry New People.
So from someone who knows the new employee experience from both sides... I get it. I totally get it...being new for the first few months is dreadful...it's difficult...some co-workers will be cold and distant at first...others will be too friendly and informative...things will take time to fall into place. But when they do, things will be great! I just wish I could skip all of this middle stuff and get to the comfort and enjoyment of not being the new girl.
My first two days at work have been interesting and exciting to say the least. This being my first full time office job I was struck by how on point shows and movies like Office Space and The Office represent the working environment. My company has about 30 employees; most are about my age and a few are much older. I have my own spacious cubicle located next to Patrica (Trish) where I will eventually work from once I am fully trained. There is a meeting room and lounge area and cafeteria with free coffee.
Like new game introduced to the animal kingdom I was pretty much ogled my first day. Luckily i wore a very cute outfit so i was okay and prepared for the physical assessment. A handful of people introduced themselves right off the back while others remained at their workspace only to peer over at me like an annoyed Senior in high school having to be nice to Freshman meat. The one's who introduced themselves are super close to Trish so by proxy they were very friendly. They also work in the Support department (which I will be leading) which could also explain the friendliness. The Marketing and Sales department make up the other half of the team and they are the ones who will be hard to impress. They were standoffish and arms crossed but spent most of the day passing my cubicle and peering over my shoulder.
The job itself if pretty doable. It's mainly customer service and editing with a few small marketing responsibilities here and there. I am taking over Trish's job (she got a promotion) and am sort of her impersonal assistant until I can work on my own. She's been training me the last two days but is sort of scatter brain and gets easily distracted. I don't even know how to answer the phone yet which sucks because it rings constantly and will be my main responsibility. I am so used to knowing how to do my job I hate how incapable I am of doing anything at the moment. I have heard the Marketing guys make snide comments about their own assistants who they've had to baby the first few months and that's the last thing I want to do. I pick up things easily and adapt even quicker but at the pace it is taking Trish to train me I look and feel like a cat being dragged on a dog leash.
My obvious concern was that I would get to this job and regret not taking the one around the corner from my house. I am happy to report that that is not the case. While the commute will take some getting used to, I am totally stoked about this job. It offers the social work environment, professional work experience and opportunity for growth on all levels. Plus there are a handful of office cuties which I will just look at but still they are there. I also got my first paycheck this weekend for the two days I worked before the end of the pay period. I literally made two weeks worth of money from the University in two days at this place so guess who can afford cable soon...this girl.
So yea, things are looking up. It's definitely a new situation and I am possibly embarking on a new life but i am excited, a little anxious, hella optimistic and happy. Very happy for the chance to make something out of the opportunity I've been given.
1 comment:
You are doing this, Beckett! Yes!!!!!!!
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