by Matt Bird

Created on: May 09, 2009

Of all the jobs I've had over the years, by far my most memorable experience was as a sales clerk at Wal-Mart.

I was part of a (then) experimental cellular division. Moving from a night-shift renovation job I was inducted into the world of cellular sales of Rogers and a number of other phone companies, an area I knew NOTHING about. (I was the only person in the training room never to have owned a cell phone. Good start, eh?)

My job was to assist customers in choosing the right cellular plan and then setting them up on said plan - or, at the very least, selling them a pre-paid phone that they could set up themselves. My Wal-Mart was pretty small, however, and our deals so poor that we didn't have many customers, so more often than not I simply acted as another clerk (albeit a better paid one) in the Electronics section.

And I must say that, on the whole, customers are pretty decent people. The mass majority of them will treat you with exactly the kind of respect you'd hope for. They're nice, they're courteous, they're funny and, best of all, they're patient. I've seen customers exercise more patience in tense situations than you'd imagine. Especially great are the older folks, those who know life doesn't need to be a constant rush and so are content to let you deal with other people until you have to time to help them.

Unfortunately for every 50 nice customers there are two or three ogres. People who expect you to cater to their every whim and be an absolute expert on everything in the store, including things you've never been trained on. These customers expect instant service, far and above what you're paid for, and will call for a manager at the drop of a hat if you don't satisfy their needs.

I hate these customers. I don't work at Wal-Mart any more BECAUSE of these customers. They treat sales clerks as though they're no longer human beings because they've put on a smock. Haven't these people ever heard of the ethic of reciprocity? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you, and all that? I can only imagine how poorly these people would do as the sales clerk were the roles reversed.

In some cases it's understandable. Not every clerk out there is accommodating. Many are flat out rude to their customers, and regardless of how unreasonable the customer may be I find such attitudes unacceptable. Even if the person is horrible you need to treat them with understanding and patience, if only so you can claim that you took the high road. But I can understand why some people end up that way, as it only takes a few bad customer service experiences to shut them down to good relations. Emotional apathy towards a customer is a sound way to make it through a tough day and still be sane at the end.

The worst part about bad customers, though, and it really IS a shame, is that one or two bad ones eclipse all the good ones. You could have served hundreds of kind, decent people that day, but the single jerk is the one you'll remember. And that ruins your whole day.

I personally think everybody, before they enter any other profession, should be obliged to work a few days in a customer service position. Having done so I can honestly say that I treat sales clerks with a thousand times more courtesy than I did before. The world would a better place if we could all say the same.

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