favorite pf posts recently
I try to check my Bloglines each day at lunch. Lately, several posts especially caught my eye. Enjoy:
Grad Money Matters brings up this point: Don’t Shop out of Boredom!
The Frugal Law Student offers 27 Ways to Save Money on Food
Krystal asks: What’s the Worst Job You Ever Had
Filed under 9-5, Cool Sites, food, shopping | Comments (4)If you’ve never been a waitress
If you’ve never been a waitress, imagine what it feels like to work long hours on your feet, waiting on table after table. Imagine preoccupied customers who ignore you when you stand in front of them or belittle you when you walk away. Imagine sloppy tables, rude demands and frequent complaints. Imagine being the brunt of anger when someone’s meal isn’t the way they wanted it. Imagine constantly apologizing, smiling, saying “No problem” and “Have a Nice Day!” Then imagine how one kind customer–one generous tip or one genuine “Thank you” makes you feel. Imagine how it takes so many good customers to make up for one bad one, and resolve to be the good one.
If you’ve never been a secretary, imagine answering someone else’s phones and getting their coffee. Imagine being responsible for tasks big and small; being overlooked by those who hold titles; being yelled at or harassed in lieu of your boss. Imagine making everything run like clockwork–from the daily reports to the scheduled meetings to the mailed forms/packages. Imagine doing all these things day in and day out, while being talked down to and made little of. Imagine being called “the secretary,” instead of by your real name. Then imagine what it’s like when a V.I.P. talks to you. Imagine when he/she remembers your name, your personal interests, your family. Imagine how it takes so many kind people to make up for one obnoxious one. Then resolve to be one of the kind people.
If you’ve never worked in customer service, imagine being the sounding board for everyone’s complaints. Imagine being cursed at, yelled at, verbally assaulted and attacked. Imagine being called an idiot, a jerk, a fool, a thief. Imagine hearing this every day, all day. Imagine knowing this is part of your job and knowing there’s nothing you can do about it. Imagine being threatened and criticized, personally, for something you had little to do with. Imagine people think they can do this because they’re paying for your service. Imagine they think they have the right to act this way. Imagine you’re being paid under $12/hr. Then imagine what a difference it makes to talk to a calm, rational customer; imagine how it takes so many of these calm customers to make up for the mean ones. Then resolve to be that customer.
I’m reminded all the time lately how the people who make the lowest wages are often completing the hardest tasks and being treated the most poorly. Why do we think it’s OK to yell at the agent on the phone but we’d never do that to the person at church? Why is it OK to stiff the waitress when we’d never want someone to do that do our son or daughter? Why do we only think of ourselves and not put ourselves in someone else’s shoes once in a while?
Filed under a deeper look at life, customer service | Comments (5)the other job
In addition to my full-time job, I still work part-time for my family’s business. A few weeks ago, a new brochure design got passed around via e-mail: the CEO had enlisted a professional to help, and the result was pretty boring and amateur. Especially with today’s technology, I was very surprised.
I submitted some suggestions, not getting over-involved because of other commitments. E-mails between me and the CEO crossed e-mails between her and the professional; end of story: a very pathetic final draft.
It was 10:30 at night and I was looking at the e-mailed version: washed out, plain layout, ugly color scheme. I started thinking. Of course, this was in the middle of last week’s verbal assaults at my regular job, so I really needed to rest. But nonetheless, my brother and I tossed around ideas and got the owner (my dad) to listen.
Yesterday we had a meeting, at 8 p.m., complete with a PowerPoint presentation and two rather attractive mock-ups. The company is using our design/text/idea, and it will be printed this week or next.
I’ve learned a lot from this experience.
1) Face-to-face is much easier than e-mail. Less chance of a mixed signal or unintended tone.
2) Preparation goes a long way, and you’d be surprised at what hard work can accomplish.
3) Teamwork makes all the difference. My brother used Pages, on his Mac, which I didn’t have access to and didn’t know how to use. He’s a natural.
4) A job well done is so satisfying (OK, I knew that already. Maybe that’s why this was fun in the first place.)
paycheck to paycheck
I was recently approached by a payday loans company about advertising on this blog. I agreed to post an entry stating why I’m against payday loans; I haven’t heard back yet.
It’s funny because the same week I heard from them, I was tighter, budget-wise, than I’ve been in months. I had an unexpected Rx bill, a shiny new iPod (yes, I did it!) and a few other things sucking away at my bank account. In fact, I’m embarrassed to tell you that I spent at least two hours the other night just trying to balance everything and figure out what happened!
Because my online account, my checkbook and my Budget didn’t match, I decided to go on a bit of a spending fast this week. No spending. Period. My gas tank is full, and I’ve got enough food at home. I shouldn’t need to withdraw anything unless an emergency happens. We’ll see how it goes.
But this reminds me why I don’t want to live this way. Eagerly anticipating my next paycheck is not wise or healthy. I want to plan better, wiser, so I never sweat a coffee or a small purchase; it’s a freer way to live.
Filed under shopping, thrifty tips | Comment (1)
