omfg, major screw up! help!

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People seriously need to mind their own business.

Ok, so over a week ago, I checked w/ the mgr who does the performance review to see if I were on track. In other words, if I keep doing what I'm doing, will I do fine? Turned out the answer was yes. That's after having working there 3 months. She had been giving me more hours, after all. Plus, I totally kicked ass the preceding Monday. A coupla days later, I still kicked ass (at least, not screw up.) Wednesday was when things went downhill. Now I'm screwing up.

For the past month and a half, I was kinda paranoid that the top mgr hated me just cuz she cut my hours. Wednesday, we had the same shift together and I happened to be cleaning the lobby. I spent the entire day moping around w/ a long face. When a coworker helped me sweep and mop when it got busy, I almost had a breakdown. A customer saw that and called corporate on her saying she was mean to me, which was totally untrue. She got into trouble anyway and the top mgr had to explain to them that my unhappiness had nothing to do with her.

Now they are keeping me away from the customers! Ok, I was wrong to not be happy in front of customers like we're all supposed to. As a customer, I'd be uncomfortable seeing an employee looking unhappy. However, since these **** are none of my business, I wouldn't do anything except maybe shop elsewhere. He called corporate based on assumptions, not facts. Damnit, he shoulda gotten a life or something and find something better to do.

Whatever, I learned my lesson...the hard way. Now I know the importance of keeping a smile on at work bc it IS a big deal. I'm just pissed that I have to learn exclusively from my own mistakes (and maybe other people's) bc I have no one to go to for advice. How am I gonna get them to trust me again in front of customers? Is it even possible to earn that trust? Y!A told me to ask my boss about this. I'll have to wait till Thursday or Friday to find that out. Still after all is said and done, I wish that customer woulda minded his own business.

Sorry, that's just my little rant. The customer is always right even when they're wrong. I just don't like being in this predicament, that's all. What am I to do about this?

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@dirrtydozen22,

1. Vent on an internet forum.

2. Take a deep breath.

3. Get back to work.

Do your best, which includes staying pleasant when in view of customers. You just don't have much recourse and it sounds like this is something you can recover from with steadiness. Pursuing it is likely to just make things worse.

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@sozobe,

Take responsibility, too, rather than getting into excuses and blaming the guy for being too nosy, etc. Just the stuff you've said here, about how you understand that employees should stay pleasant when dealing with customers in any way, and that you will try harder to keep your emotions in check in the future.

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@sozobe,

but will they ever trust me again in front of customers so I could prove myself?

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I really have nothing constructive to add to Soz's sound advice. But I'll reinforce the obvious: all work interfacing regularly with customers is awful. Just awful.

I find the adage about the customer always being right less true than this: the customer is usually an asshole. Especially in food service. People regress into infants when they're hungy. And as a former-waiter, the world's worst, I know from experience how ridiculous their demands can be.

I was, howevver, in the fortunate position of dating the owner's daughter. When one of my tables would walk out on me, angry, the most he would do is say to me, "Aw. Come on, guy!"

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@Gargamel,

Sometimes they're wrong and sometimes they're right. But God they're always right regardless. Sometimes it can be a pain in the ass, esp in this case.

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@sozobe,

And like Sozobe said, when you talk with your manager about this - take ownership of your error. It will go a long way in showing maturity.

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@dirrtydozen22,

Well, they are the ones shelling out the money. If they didn't, the place would not be in business and you wouldn't have a job. Basically put a smile on your face and vent where it is safe. There are going to be situations where the customer may be wrong in a sense, but since they are paying, they are right. But there will be other times when the customer may recognize you for being extra nice and may also call corporate to let them know.

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@Linkat,

DD has it ever occured to you that all an employer owes you is a day's pay for day's work.

They are not interested in your personal life, if you don't feel good, mentally or physiclly stay home,.

And they don't need a drama queen drawing negative attention to herself.,

My dad used to tell us kids, "You gotta get up in the morning, put on your tin bill, go out into the chicken pen and peck **** with the rest of them.

Are you bi-polar? Whatever, get constructive help.

Seaglass

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it is clear from your posting history that you sabotage yourself. The bad news is that most people like you never stop doing it, their lives never amount to much because they will not allow themselves to have happy productive lives. The good news is that you can fix this.

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@Sglass,

The day I turned sixteen, I went to work taking mini xrays of incoming patients in a pretty well reputed hospital even then. I was, of course, a fool just controlling myself. There was a procedure and I followed it. (Taking the xrays meant I had to wear this giant lead shield while directing the patient.) I remember being scared witless. I also remember not being scared after a few days, enjoying taking the radiologist's dictation, enjoying filing, soon getting a kick out of the patients... enjoying flirting with the dieners, the ER staff (one was a musicologist), and the med records' guy. I taught myself to write lefthanded in my bored time. I made my own small medical dictionary.
I doubt that in those few years I frowned at a patient, however obnoxious the patient, and there were some of those. The patients helped me learn about life by watching them, as I'd been very sheltered before all this.

I suspect customers anywhere offer such a learning curve. People do behave badly, but are interesting besides that. Work your way up.
You've been making progress. Don't be a brat at work, you aren't sixteen any more, stop with the sourpuss.

Personally I'm no fan of false smiles, though once in a while a smile by yourself can surprise you and make even you happy. But... petulance, don't do that.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

Hah, I'll tell about a time when I was bad. It's probably ok by now. I was ashamed at the time.

I worked in a clinical lab in Beverly Hills - I'd hired on there to learn more about hematology, or so I thought. My education was tip top and my clincal lab training was lame, and then I went to work setting up a clinical lab and running it at a university. I was working a million hours not doing what I wanted, and this BH lab was my plotzing place, I had punted to there. What a mistakeroo, but not all bad as I liked all the people.. Still, there was a strangeness.

Anyway, much as I could run a special lab, I wasn't all that swift at injecting the rats or asking guys for ejaculate samples, and even not all that cocky about drawing blood from iffy patients, some of whom were famous. Gahhhh, but I did all those, many times. I got to not mind dealing with patients I had a clue about.
But..

One sunny day I was the lab tech on call and a couple came in for matrimonial screening, which is to say, vdrls. I blanched. No, no, I can't, I can't. And I didn't, I got out of it. The general lab tech queen there said, "Osso, that's not lab". I didn't give a ****, I didn't want to do it. The whining baby refused.

It was Jim Morrison and his girlfriend. The Gen tech dispatched them shortly. So, I have that as a blemish re my own fortitude, I was chickenshit.

That all sounds very dramatic, known famous types, but people who go into a fast food restaurant can be complexly interesting. Study them. Get over yourself, look beyond your own face and your own problems.

Start to learn more about people and while you're doing it, you'll learn more about yourself.

That long ago laboratory scenario helped me get a grip. Maybe shame helped me. I got stronger, though not all at once.

1 Reply

@ossobuco,

I see I talk too much.

On the other hand, I'd like DD22 to leap towards a sense of self, with a reason for controlling herself. I see DD22 as bright but, um, struggling.

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@Sglass,

I wasn't drawing attention to myself. Didn't even say anything to anyone. But I agree what I did was wrong. I shoulda left my personal problems at home.

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It's been awhile since I've last written. I simply needed a few days to recollect myself. Yes, the customer may have overreacted by making that call to corporate based on assumptions, but it was still my fault. I found all that out "trolling" Y!A, TFS, and thoughts.com. Everyone basically said the same thing. I learned one thing the hard way, which is to leave my personal problems at home. I have to remember two things.

Even though I don't realize I'm screwing up while it's happening, the screw up is mine and mine alone. Therefore, it goes w/o saying that I still deserve consequences and there's nothing unfair about them.

Also, the only way I could learn is through consequences, given how stupid I am. I may learn from other people's mistakes once in awhile, but I learn mostly from my own (but not w/o consequences.) The first time I sulked and went around w/ a long face, customer called corporate on mgt saying they were mean to me. The mgr herself got into trouble but didn't do anything. She didn't even seem pissed when she told me what happened. So came my 2nd offense. Not only am I to be kept away from customers, but my hours r back down 2 one day a week. Same thing for screaming when I burn myself. They let that slide the first few times and then cut my hours the last time it happened. I never did that same **** again.

I only wanna know how serious it really is, what happened last Wednesday. If corporate got involved, does it mean it caused shitload of trouble? If customer complains about something that's clearly an employee's fault, does it make it real serious? I'ma find out today when I work and then see how I could earn back being around customers.

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@dirrtydozen22,

I see miserable, cranky people in the workforce everyday. I would never think to call a corporate office about them. For all I know their problems are home based and non of my business. I still think you have a little Asperger's syndrome DD22. Your odd behaviors trigger people to react to you in negative way. Perhaps you are better off not dealing with the public or maybe not face to face.

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@Green Witch,

The customer thought my problem had to do with my coworker mistreating me, which was why he called corporate. That said, I got her into trouble for something she wasn't even guilty of. I apologized to her yesterday and she went, "Oh, that's fine. All I got was a slap on the wrist." Well, with the corporate bigwigs, I'm assuming it must be a pretty hard slap and it was prolly a hassle for the mgr to explain to them that it wasn't her fault.

If only the customer knew it wasn't his business either. Customers complain about anything and everything, though, and that's not gonna change. I should just be careful around them the next time around.

1 Reply

@dirrtydozen22,

I wouldn't worry too much.

I see by your writing that you're intelligent and well-read. You have a balanced view of things and yourself. You'll do well wherever you go.

I mean it.

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@panzade,

Thank you

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@dirrtydozen22,

dirty~
you are actually too educated, and at the same time too ignorant. you have proper spelling, while using improper grammar. you are obviously overqualified for you position and will never be able to be subservient to a system designed to keep you down. **** your boss, and your job, get educated and learn to use proper tenses. then you can empower yourself toward a higher purpose and find what you love doing....doing what pays the bills only pays the bills, doing what you love is doing what you love. pure nuff.

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omfg, major screw up! help!

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