Hello.
This is sort of a follow up from the “anonymous” supermarket
piece a few months ago. Which, spoiler alert for those of you who know my
writing style – was me. In the world of PR and Social Media, you’ve got to be
pretty careful with this stuff, especially when you’re writing about your real
life work place. But, hey, all you know is that I work in a supermarket…. So,
you have quite a few options to guess from.
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A colleague and close friend of mine encouraged me to write
this piece. Hello Julie, I know you’re reading this. This colleague of mine
wanted me to write about all the obstacles I’ve overcome since I started back
in May last year, and it’s heart-warming to see someone who has worked with me
so closely since day one, talking about me in those terms and noticing my
progress.
Yes, I feel like an entirely different person since I
started. I’m a lot calmer and less anxious. But even so, I’m still a bit of a
mumbler and often have to repeat myself – particularly when there is a lot of
noise! I’ve always had an issue with speaking clearly and I’ve analysed it. I’ve
concluded that mumbling has much to do with the desire – or lack of – to be
heard. You don’t want to talk to people in case they’re mean to you. You don’t
want to state opinions in case someone disagrees with you.
Speaking to people is scary. It’s as much about timing as
anything else, and those of you who are good at socialising will have naturally
good timing. Knowing when to speak, judging if the other person is about to
speak. Judging whether what you want to say is even relevant to the
conversation. Not knowing if people will listen to you.
Working in customer service makes it even harder. I’m not a
particularly chatty person when I’m on a till. I’ve always said that I don’t
try to be something that I’m not, and ultimately, I’ve worked out that most
customers would be happy with just a simple hello, smile and a thank you at the
end. That’s what I prioritise. If they want to talk then I’m happy to join in.
I do get a few customers who look up, smile and ask how my
day is going. But equally I get plenty who shy away from eye contact, chuck
their Meal Deal into their rucksack before quietly expressing their gratitude
as they collect their things and depart. It doesn’t really matter either way, I
am here to be their friend for 2 minutes, and it’s entirely their
choice whether they utilise that or not.
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When I first started in the job, I recall how I would
basically try and hide behind my screen. Most items have a barcode, so scanning
things is simple enough. But there are some that don’t, such as the bakery
items. I didn’t have a clue what half of them were to start with. We have to
look inside the paper bag and then go into the onscreen menu and select the
appropriate option from the bakery section. Quite often customers tell me what
they are, or at least give a rough description of what they are. There’s
usually a keyword that leads me to the right product, or at the very least, the
right price!
I remember back in the summer, one of the new staff was sat
behind me and asked me about a bakery item. I asked if they had tried asking
the customer, but it turned out the customer wasn’t sure. My colleague then
showed me the bakery menu and we discussed which item would be the best one to
select.
During these times I always instantly gave my colleague my full
attention, because I know what it’s like to be new and how scary it is when
you’re not sure what to do in a situation like that.
When I first started, everyone was so helpful and whoever
was working behind me would always show me how to do things, without so much as
a huff or even a hint of annoyance. It made me feel so welcome.
It took me a few attempts to learn everything. There are
some things which happen several times a day, which you’d then know inside out
within your first couple of weeks. Whereas there are other things which only happen
occasionally which I was still trying to learn 6 months later.
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It’s admittedly a bit odd that I can’t tell customers that
I’m new anymore. It really does feel like I’ve only been there 8 minutes at
times, let alone going on 8 months.
I’m trained on self-service now as well,
which is a lot of fun. There’s lots of moving around and directing people to
the appropriate tills.
When I first started training on self-service, I noticed how
my interactions with customers were entirely different to what it’s like on a
normal till. My mum pointed out that this might be because I am essentially
troubleshooting problems, rather than doing a job that they could do
themselves.
It does get tough on self-service, particularly when it’s
busy. It’s a bit like one of those games when you’re stood in front of a load
of panels and you’ve got to touch the lights as quickly as possible. It’s tough
with things like asking for ID as well. On a till you can sometimes have
several minutes to look at a customer and decide how old you think they are,
whereas on a self-service till you’ve got a matter of seconds.
I was on a plane back from a holiday a few weeks ago and
noticed how one of my skills from work had come in handy. For some reason,
there were some staff and passengers gathered in the aisle by our seats, and so
for a few minutes I had to deal with the otherwise uncomfortable scenario of
being in the midst of a crowd. This is a frequent happening at work, and so I
focused on what I was doing – reading my book – and ignored everything else. I
felt very calmed and wasn’t particularly bothered by the previously uncomfortable
situation. It’s nice when your own personal progress is so clear to see.
In fact, speaking of personal progress, I had a shift a few
weeks ago where I achieved the following things: Took a selfie with a celebrity
(he was stood by a till just as I was about to start, so I was free to interact
and request selfies), did surprisingly well to then deal with 3 hours’ worth of
pre-Christmas weekend shoppers, whilst on a massive high from meeting one of my
childhood heroes. And then, on my way out of work, I stopped to talk to three
different people that I know – most of all, I started all three of the
conversations. I went home on cloud nine.
Two days later I experienced my first Christmas in retail. I
had been warned about how we were likely to have queues that filled back into
the aisles. As we drove into the store, there were cars parked on the external
pavements and there were zero parking spaces, and thus I was dropped outside
the entrance while my partner whizzed off to try and avoid any further crowds.
I think I got off quite lightly with the Christmas
experience. I worked until Monday 23rd December, which – while manic
and stressful – wasn’t half as bad as I expected. I was bravely wearing a big,
silly Christmas hat which seemed to encourage the customers to warm to me. It
also gave me a thoroughly decent disguise, which made me feel a lot calmer in
the busy surroundings.
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But on the 23rd, I have never known a shift to go
so quickly. We get a break halfway through our shifts, and so four and a bit
hours flew by and the next thing I knew I was devouring a well-earned sandwich
in the canteen, before heading back to finish off the day.
That Monday was nice on a
number of levels, not least because the customers could see that every single
till was open and that we were all doing our best. They were all lovely! And at
one point, early on, a very kind gentleman looked me in the eye and said
“you’re doing a great job!”, whilst others asked how we were feeling and how we
were coping with the situation. It was lovely and incredibly encouraging.
However, I can’t deny it was excellent to be stood in a virtually empty store a
week later on New Years Day.
Retail certainly hasn’t magically cured me of social anxiety.
That’s just not how it works. Sure, there are many people who simply need to
push themselves a bit before they become a sociable and confident person – I’ve
seen it with many people who I went to school and college with.
It’s about making progress rather than trying to cure
yourself of all social fears. Working in retail has helped me to develop a
better understanding of people, which has really helped with my ability to
react to questions and how to interact with customers. Judging facial
expressions and tone of voice – have they had a bad day at work? Is it best to
encourage them to vent a little bit or to simply say nothing?
I had a customer once, at around 4pm on a weekday, who
looked as if they were trying to fight back tears. I chose to say nothing for
the most part. Up until right at the end, when I made a small joke and gave
them a smile and their entire demeanour instantly brightened.
Social anxiety is largely about fear. You’re scared that
people won’t like you. You’re scared that you won’t be accepted by society.
Learning to understand people is really helpful for overcoming these fears. You
suddenly have a better understanding of what people are thinking and what they
are thinking about you.
It’s been fun, it’s been challenging, but most of all,
working in retail given me a platform where self-improvement is a continuous process. You don't just reach a point where everything is perfect and there are no more challenges left.
And that's the beauty of it all. You keep learning and you keep going.
Follow Matt: @Matt_jl_24
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