ok ive been at my job for almost two years. it seems like my attitude and my tips have steadly declined since i started. its like i take less crap then when i first started. i feel like its starting to effect my pocket. when i first started i was new to waiting tables and pregnant, i was quiet and very sweet, now i feel like a crabby person. i think just being at that place for so long makes me more angry. like people trying to get free food or always complaing about things i cant control. i dont dred going to work and i have alot of friends there. yesterday i had someone pull my manager aside and tell them i was nasty to them ( i wasnt but still i wonder if im projecting my feelings) anyone else know what im talking about? how do you keep your good face on when you notice bullshit from customers? im really trying to keep up a good attitude but i need some advice on how others keep going at their jobs? sometimes i wish everyone could wait tables for awhile so they could see how things really work. i constantly have customers stiff me based on food mess ups i have no control over.
I worked for three years at a swimsuit store and had to put on such a fake face all the time for customers. I think that what helped me the most was to just smile and pretend I was someone else. I would block out what I was really feeling and just pretend to be an actress. It worked well for a long time. Eventually I transferred to the warehouse for a break because customer service really does take its toll on you. I went back to the store with a renewed outlook. See if you could cross train, maybe you could work in the kitchen for a while. Just let them know that you're a little worn down and maybe working behind the scenes will give you a chance to recharge.
i'm a waitress/server. i've been serving for about 4-5 months i'd say and before that i was a host in the same restaurant. i like to think of it as acting sometimes, and the nicer and more smily i am, the better tipped i usually get. when customers suck, cause you know they can, i talk about it with my co-workers in the back. or just brush them off and chalk up there attitude to a lack of happiness in there own lifes.
i've had some of the rudest customers who just make you want to scream, or cry, but if you just fake it untill there get out of there it will be okay.
and sometimes i just think about other things. like what i'm doing later, or my boyfriend or whatever.
I work at Aetna as a costumer rep so I really know how you feel. I have only been working her for about a year and all my hair is almost gone(j/k). It does get agrivating especially when people complain and yell at you and call you names and talk to you like you are stupid. I guess i just cant take it personal.
I have applied for a few other NON costumer service jobs here!! I hope I get one.
I like the acting thing, personally. When I have to deal with extremely pissy people, I pretend that I am actually in a play and that we are both playing parts. It keeps me from getting so angry at them and allows me to be happier in the situation.
I was a waitress/shooter girl in a bar for quite a while. I had to deal with a LOT of crap, but like Rosie said, pretending it's like a play and you're just putting on an act really helps. I also find it puts people in their place more, if they're being rude, for me to continue being sweet as pie instead of yelling at them. Returning it, makes ME look bad, whereas just shrugging it off and continuing to be polite, makes them look bad.
i agree with pretending its an act. i flirt like crazy smile and giggle... i call people hun and sweetie and i act like they are my friends. since we work for the same corporation i can relate. i go in the back and talk it out with co-works like rosie said. or when i think that even the smallest thing is wrong (their steak wasn't well done when it should have been or they just seem upset) i go and talk to a manager. i explain the situation and have them go over and check on them. i've had more than one table compliment me on the attentiveness of the managers and the wait staff. i feel that by going in the back and yelling and getting out how i really feel i don't relay my feelings onto the customers. hang in there hun. trust me i honestly know how you feel. but i swear it does get better. if you need to talk you know i'm here... <3
i finally got out of it after 8 years, becuase my attitude towards customers was getting so bad that i was getting complaints. now im not suggesting to quit your job at all, im just mentioning that it does happen.