Shalom My Friends,
I hope this post finds you well in your endeavors on this fine June evening. As I write this, I am sitting on a blanket on top of my roof, gazing out onto the suburban life below. Perhaps it was the view which inspired me to write this next post, but I'm not sure.
I enjoy watching Netflix. It is one of the few things that relaxes me. Just give me a mug of tea and Netflix, and I can waste a few hours or more just relaxing. Recently, I found myself entranced by the television show Dexter. For those of you who don't know, Dexter is a show about a serial killer whose only victims are criminals who are guilty of crimes for which they have been pardoned. The main character, Dexter Morgan, is a sociopath; meaning he has no concept of emotion or moral standing. He does live by a code, one put in place for him by his late father. As I watched the events of an episode unfold, one which featured Dexter's girlfriend Rita, a thought occurred to me: "Rita has emotions. She isn't a sociopath... But what if she were? What if both Dexter and Rita were both attempting to feign their feelings of love toward each other. How would their lives be different?" This thought inspired me to write a few words about that situation. This is what I came up with:
A Sociopathic Romance
-----
Embracing with no feeling.
Running unemotional fingers along smooth skin.
A kiss with no spark.
Hands fumbling around with no direction or drive.
A knife without a blade.
Two people pretending to feel something they've never known,
Each one trying to fool the other into believing that their love is real,
But they themselves can't even begin to imagine the reality they attempt to portray.
They don't even know how to think it, let alone feel it.
It's a ruse
With the one thinking the other is true,
And a lack of feelings to be perceived.
Sociopaths feigning romance.
-----
It's not much, but it's something. I was simply intrigued by that idea.
Short though this post was, I believe it has done it's duty. Thusly, I shall pardon you to return to whatever activities have stricken your fancy.
Godspeed, my friends. -M
Monday, June 29, 2015
Friday, June 19, 2015
Delays + Retail
Salutations Dear Readers,
As I mentioned, I have a job. I work for my families retail business. Before I worked there, I worked for another store in town. In both jobs, I have found working in retail has proven to be quite a challenge for my certain personality. It's extraordinarily difficult to hold my tongue at times, rather than letting my sassy nature loose on the general populous. Occasionally I slip up when joking with customers, I forget not everyone understands sarcasm. When this happens, awkward moments are extremely prevalent. But usually I am able to control myself and put on a congenial air, which is far more than I can say for certain customers. I have found that there are a few different general personalities that shine through when dealing with people in a retail setting. Sadly, most of them are negative. Note: Some of these personalities can actually overlap in certain individuals.
Before I continue, let me make one thing clear: I am not aiming to offend, but if this indeed offends you, I apologize for your discomfort, but I personally feel no guilt. These are my speculations and observations, and this is my blog after all.
Customer Personalities:
-The "Sunshine and Daisies" customer: These customers are the ones who are the most pleasant and easy going people to help. They are willing to accept help where it's needed and understand that the clerk is doing their absolute best to try and help them.
-The "Clueless" customer: These people have no idea what's going on and require more time and attention. They are generally pleasant, if not a bit confused at all the new information they're getting. But usually they're willing and eager to learn.
-The "Careless Parent" customer: Now, when I say careless, I don't mean that they are terrible parents, I could not pass that judgement. While we love having kids come in our stores, we do not appreciate gigantic messes being made if they can be avoided. These customers are the ones who allow their children to run around the store and tear things off shelves and destroy displays. There's not much you can do, other than ask the kids to behave, if the parent is not willing to reign their child in.
-The "I Can Buy It On The Internet" customer: The title is self explanatory. These people are slightly obnoxious when being dealt with. If you would rather buy it on the Internet, why are you in the store in the first place?
-The "Time-Crunched" or "Personal Schedule" customer: These are the ones who expect the workers to drop everything they are doing to help them, even if there are people who have been waiting longer than they have and have priority. They fail to understand it's a "first come, first serve" sort of deal. Personally, I understand they may be in a hurry and that being crunched for time is not a fun thing, but being rude to the people trying to help you is not going to make the process move quicker and will not motivate the worker to help you in the future. If you ever find yourself in this position, please have patience and try to look at it from the retailer's perspective.
-"The Customer Is Always Right" customer: To dispel this dubious lie that seems to have spread throughout the world: No, the customer is not always right. These customers are the ones who are so absolutely convinced that they know more about a product or process than the experts attempting to help them do, that they are stubborn and unwilling to admit they may be wrong and end up screwing up whatever they are attempting to do. We all have a little bit of this kind of customer inside of us, but it's not productive to have this part of ourselves take over all our interactions.
All of these customers have at least one thing in common: the store they are shopping at. Within these stores is a system of employees who are doing their very best in order to ensure the shoppers have a pleasant experience and receive all the help they need. In some cases, this may take longer than others, but in the end it will be worth the time spent.
A note to you, my readers (if any of you exist): When you're in a store and the line is moving slowly, or all the employees are busy and it seems you'll never be helped, or the employees seem frazzled, or something of another nature occurs, please remember that working with the public is an extremely difficult task that not everyone can manage. As customers, please attempt to make the process go as easily as possible and try to have a positive and open attitude about the experience. Remember, retail clerks are people too, they have feelings and don't enjoy negativity being constantly thrown their way.
And so, we have reached the end of my fourth (if not somewhat delayed) post.
Do you work in retail? Have any crazy stories about customers? Comment them below.
And as always, thank you for reading. -M
I apologize for my lack of written word over the past few months or so. I have been otherwise-occupied, between my laptop completely crashing and having to purchase a new one, to my second college semester finals, to homework for said finals, to preparing to transfer to a new college in the fall, working 5 days a week, and seemingly everything in between. However, as I stated in my pilot post, I have not promised to write in an annual method, so I honestly feel no guilt for keeping you waiting for my next "stimulating" post. Therefore, without further ado, my fourth post:
As I mentioned, I have a job. I work for my families retail business. Before I worked there, I worked for another store in town. In both jobs, I have found working in retail has proven to be quite a challenge for my certain personality. It's extraordinarily difficult to hold my tongue at times, rather than letting my sassy nature loose on the general populous. Occasionally I slip up when joking with customers, I forget not everyone understands sarcasm. When this happens, awkward moments are extremely prevalent. But usually I am able to control myself and put on a congenial air, which is far more than I can say for certain customers. I have found that there are a few different general personalities that shine through when dealing with people in a retail setting. Sadly, most of them are negative. Note: Some of these personalities can actually overlap in certain individuals.
Before I continue, let me make one thing clear: I am not aiming to offend, but if this indeed offends you, I apologize for your discomfort, but I personally feel no guilt. These are my speculations and observations, and this is my blog after all.
Customer Personalities:
-The "Sunshine and Daisies" customer: These customers are the ones who are the most pleasant and easy going people to help. They are willing to accept help where it's needed and understand that the clerk is doing their absolute best to try and help them.
-The "Clueless" customer: These people have no idea what's going on and require more time and attention. They are generally pleasant, if not a bit confused at all the new information they're getting. But usually they're willing and eager to learn.
-The "Careless Parent" customer: Now, when I say careless, I don't mean that they are terrible parents, I could not pass that judgement. While we love having kids come in our stores, we do not appreciate gigantic messes being made if they can be avoided. These customers are the ones who allow their children to run around the store and tear things off shelves and destroy displays. There's not much you can do, other than ask the kids to behave, if the parent is not willing to reign their child in.
-The "I Can Buy It On The Internet" customer: The title is self explanatory. These people are slightly obnoxious when being dealt with. If you would rather buy it on the Internet, why are you in the store in the first place?
-The "Time-Crunched" or "Personal Schedule" customer: These are the ones who expect the workers to drop everything they are doing to help them, even if there are people who have been waiting longer than they have and have priority. They fail to understand it's a "first come, first serve" sort of deal. Personally, I understand they may be in a hurry and that being crunched for time is not a fun thing, but being rude to the people trying to help you is not going to make the process move quicker and will not motivate the worker to help you in the future. If you ever find yourself in this position, please have patience and try to look at it from the retailer's perspective.
-"The Customer Is Always Right" customer: To dispel this dubious lie that seems to have spread throughout the world: No, the customer is not always right. These customers are the ones who are so absolutely convinced that they know more about a product or process than the experts attempting to help them do, that they are stubborn and unwilling to admit they may be wrong and end up screwing up whatever they are attempting to do. We all have a little bit of this kind of customer inside of us, but it's not productive to have this part of ourselves take over all our interactions.
All of these customers have at least one thing in common: the store they are shopping at. Within these stores is a system of employees who are doing their very best in order to ensure the shoppers have a pleasant experience and receive all the help they need. In some cases, this may take longer than others, but in the end it will be worth the time spent.
A note to you, my readers (if any of you exist): When you're in a store and the line is moving slowly, or all the employees are busy and it seems you'll never be helped, or the employees seem frazzled, or something of another nature occurs, please remember that working with the public is an extremely difficult task that not everyone can manage. As customers, please attempt to make the process go as easily as possible and try to have a positive and open attitude about the experience. Remember, retail clerks are people too, they have feelings and don't enjoy negativity being constantly thrown their way.
And so, we have reached the end of my fourth (if not somewhat delayed) post.
Do you work in retail? Have any crazy stories about customers? Comment them below.
And as always, thank you for reading. -M
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