No, seriously! I make a difference when it comes to the purchases
of people who come into the violin shop. Why? I think it's because I don't only
sell the instruments. I also play a role in repairing them.
In Looking
Backward, I totally agree that, "It was the principal business of clerks
to help people to make their selection in my day." That is the role that I
play. Now, the idea that my role can be replaced by a note card is a load of
crap.
Let me tell you
the story of scary fireman guy. For convenience, I shall call him SFG. I
was standing behind the counter at work when this tall guy walks in and says to
me, "I want to buy a cello."
I smiled, mainly
because I didn't want him to hulk out and break my spine with his teeth.
"No problem.
Is there a price range you were aiming for?"
"Price
range?" He sputters and he turns a bit pink.
"Yes, we have
cellos starting at $800 and ranging up towards $10,000." I pull out my
price book and wait.
"$800- I'm
not buying my kid an $800 piece of shit wood!"
"Uhh..."
I really had nothing to say to that. He started turning purple-ly and
I rushed right to rentals.
"I'm sorry, I
was under the impression that the instrument was for you. We do have rental
instruments in fractional sizes for students. How old is your child?"
He goes a back to
pink and in walks his kids and wife. I go through the rental program and blah
blah blah. Then he starts thinking that our maintenance and insurance system is
a scam.
"Both are
optional, of course. I just super recommend it because your kid is in
middle school and kids use bows as swords and drop kick cellos for
laughs." I totally don't say that to his face but I say roughly the same
thing.
I show him a list
of repair costs and times. He gets mad but his wife accepts the insurance and
they leave.
Guess what, they
were in two weeks later with a broken bow that they didn't have to pay for
BECAUSE THEY GOT THE INSURANCE THAT I RECOMMENDED TO THEM! IT'S NOT EVEN
HELPFUL TO MY COMPANY BECAUSE THEY HAVE TO FIX THE DAMN THING!
Okay, screaming
aside I was dead helpful. And not for commission reasons or anything.
I know people think, "Oh that's cause you work in a small business."
Okay, that might be kinda true but how many times have you gone to a bookstore
and they scan coupons for you when you don't have them. I've been to large
company arts stores and they always give me the discounts that apply. I really
don't think that clerks are out there to screw everybody. I've gotten more help
from live clerks than the back of a box every time.
So I don't think
that Utopia can exist without clerks. I know this seems pretty petty but it's a
big thing. I know much more about violins, violas, cellos,
basic carpentry, power tools, financial math, people skills, medicine, and
animal care. Seriously, all from being a clerk at a violin store. By removing
the occupation of being a clerk from the public you remove
learning opportunities. We all know how I feel about the loss of learning.
It makes me cringe inside. And outside.
Also, totally removes the only incentive I have to go shopping. I
hate just getting things. Tell me about it, give me the specs even if you think
I don’t understand. I want to see people talk about things they like, make, or
just know about. This got personal and strange. I’m just gonna stop here.
Here's an awesome video about minecraft!
This blog post was brought to you by the number: 640
I will say that it's kind of ironic that in a utopia, which typically places an emphasis on community and relying on one another to thrive, that there is an absence of customer service. I also find it very surprising that as someone who works in customer service and no doubt has dealt with your fair share of "interesting" customers that you are not excited about the idea of a place where you do not have to succumb to the mantra of "the customer is always right." It's refreshing in a way to know that there are people out there that are happy to have the opportunity to work with the public in customer service. Just out of curiosity, do you see any middle ground between the little sheet of paper and yourself? Would customer service look any different than it does today in your utopia?
ReplyDeleteI think in my utopia, it would no longer be called "service." The terms we use say so much about how we perceive things. The concept of "serving" each other has gone from a noble and honest thing that we should simply do for our fellow humans to something that is an occupation for those who are theoretically lower down the social ladder.
DeleteI wonder what other terms we could use instead? Or do we simply need to rehabilitate the idea of what it means to "serve"?
The story was very helpful in proving your point. I find that when I think about Utopia, I pay alot of attention to the big things and forget about the little thinga and you're right even the little things like store clerks should count in Utopia.
ReplyDeleteI'm inclined to agree with you and Gwen, Iris. I worked as a cashier and bus boy at a café when I was younger, and I can state as a fact that that job is hugely under-appreciated. I never got tips (even though we had no waiters and I was the one responsible for serving food and chatting with customers), aside from the usual "Thank you; I'm going to throw my napkin in my half-full bowl of soup as your reward" kind of thing.
ReplyDeleteWe *do* tend to overlook the small things when we look at utopias, but I think replacing clerks and "customer service" would be silly. We should increase the appreciation for people in these positions.
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I also like the Minecraft video. As an education major, I'm all for something that helps kids want to learn.