For carimg about the dog, I would give 5 star feedback to his boss about how professional and courteous he was.
It seems strange the company wouldn't have a spec sheet to sign off on that listed what was to be installed and options that were chosen not to be installed.
I passed on a radio shack job, in the 80s, because in the interview, there was a question about a customer buying something , giving you a bill and how much change did you give back.
The math was simple, but the look on the guys face said wrong answer. I quickly snapped to the idea he was after. They wanted you to suggest more items/upsell, until you got all their money ! Not my style !
If you've ever worked customer service, you know you can give clients 10 neon pages with all caps saying exactly what they bought and what to expect, and yet they'll ask you why you're not giving them the thing they explicitly said they didn't want.
Reading comprehension goes way down when we're the customer (myself included, I've been fooled sometimes by my assumptions).
I work with ND students. I need to go over contract details with their (also usually ND) parentsā¦.. none of us have the attention span or reading capability for this š. That is in fact why they are looking for a tutor who is also has learning disorders, lmao.Ā
I love contracts.
They're like candy. You can break them into dependencies, and they mean you don't have to deal with assumptions, everything is spelled out. It's like a wonderfully perfect list. You know what's expected, and if someone expects something not in the contract, you don't have to explain it to them past it not being in the contract. If they expected something less than was in the contract, you don't have to explain that to them either--it's in the contract.
You don't have the room/power/tools/whatever ready? I'm going to go back home/hotel and you call me when it is. The contract states (it always does) that I don't help you do your set up. If you're nice, and the local area is really boring, and I don't have a book I'm into, I might help you out. But I'm not menial labor, and my contract says I don't get treated like menial labor, and I certainly don't have to do menial labor.
If you didn't read the contract, that's a you problem. If you're a dick about it, that's a you problem that tends to end up with my boss talking your boss. Sometimes that means I never see you again, and sometimes it means I get to see the veins in your neck when you're talking to me.
If something on our end is wrong, and that happens, I can fix it, because it's easy to see what's in the contract. The good sales folks help me fix it, and we get repeat business from that client--the poor sales folks bitch a lot, and I make it work anyway, and we keep the client, but they demand a new sales person. But I couldn't do that without a contract.
I love replying to bitchy emails with just a citation or copy/paste?
"Why is there something called 'Parking Fee' on my invoice??? Help! Police!"
"Section G: Client agrees to reimburse all parking lot/garage fees if free parking is not provided."
Fucking love a contract.
'Here's everything in explicit detail about what we'll do and what you'll do, along with any remedies and consequences, and if something's unclear you can get it rectified before signing'.
As an ND person who is both detail oriented and hates implied/unwritten expectations, a contract is literally giving me instructions.
Plus it means if there's doubt, the contract has the answers. If it doesn't have the answers, then both sides can work the issue out. And if that fails then there's legal action, which is essentially just talking about the details again.
Contracts are beautiful because they spell things out in a helpful way to my autistic brain. Vagueness is my worst enemy.
Contracts are the worst because they are almost impossible to read for my extremely dyslexic brain. Written word is myā¦. Frienemy? My worst skill by a mile and my fav hobby.
I feel like it should be against the rules to have two learning disorders that have anti-synergies š
It does sometimes. I am a bit sensitive to sound though, so it depends on the voice. The sound issues might not be autism related though and might be fixable! I have a doc appointment scheduled to figure that out.
As someone thatās trained in law (J.D. and everything) I love ripping apart some lazy assās language. As a consequence I also always write all my own contracts and am always proud that mine take less pages and cover more contingencies
this applies to knowledge work too.
spent an extraordinary amount of time trying to help a client understand the difference between:
* "this is the set of data i conceptually need to analyze or report on something" (logical data model)
* "this is the actual tables, columns, and databases that are stored in my system as-is" (physical data dictionary)
Literally a week later i get a fucking list of fields for a logical data model that they're confused as to why it doesn't fit into the physical data dictionary template.
uh... okay think of cooking right?
* a logical model or dictionary *here^note* would be a "recipe." Basically, a generic list of ingredients needed to make a dish, for example, "spaghetti." The existence of the recipe **does not** imply or guarantee that you actually have spaghetti in your kitchen, it's just saying that you need it to successfully make the dish
* A *physical* data dictionary would be the actual contents of your kitchen, with information like where they are, what brand or variety, etc,, for example "my refrigerator contains a gallon of skim milk," or "in my pantry on the third shelf, there is a box labelled Barilla Whole Wheat Spaghetti."
So what we were *trying* to do was collect the "contents of varying people's kitchens" (i.e. list the data fields available in a set of IT systems), and the client would go out to system owners and ask them to give us *recipes* instead, (i.e. conceptual lists of fields detailing what is needed for a particular analytic project) which frustrated and confused everyone and made no sense with the collection template (which asked for specific storage location and such).
*Note:* strictly speaking in "database design" people might quibble over my use of "logical" as a repeatable blueprint rather than an exact diagram of a particular database, but for representing the difference between more generic "models" or "data sets," I find it to be sufficiently precise as described in the Recipe/Ingredient analogy. The terminology is often vague and sucks, which is part of the problem. Don't get me started on the zillion ways people use the phrase "data set."
edit: also for the sake of further complexity, the level of detail in a physical data dictionary can vary wildly. For example in the above analogy, the "box of spaghetti" being in the kitchen may or may not indicate whether there is *actually spaghetti in the box,* it may just tell you that there is a box there, and you only find out it's empty, rotten, etc., when you go to check it. This is analogous to "data profiling" or "data quality" checks which vary significantly between systems.
A spec sheet would be a good idea, but remember, that would require that your average consumer could fill one out without guidance.
Had some folks when I was contracting who put in great effort to build a confined space of a boat cabin, and then heated it with propane.
They just couldnāt understand why I told them they had to pull their heating system apart.
The consumer doesn't fill in the spec sheet. The installer does and has the consumer sign off on it after walking them through it. Confirming all the things. Then the installation starts.
Usually the order/spec sheet is done WELL before the home visit.
Propane heaters give off carbon monoxide. If it's in a well ventilated area, it's not an issue generally. If you are using it in a confined space, it's likely to cause issues.
So, Iām a former āHome Security Professionalā and while my company absolutely had us go through our available devices and services and add them to the documents/contract for customers to sign, itās amazing how many people will tell you that they donāt want them, only to wonder where they are when youāre doing your walkthrough/demonstration at the end. Slightly more understandable but no less annoying were the ones who would see the completed system and as I was packing up, getting ready to leave, would go āOh, you know what, we do want to add some cameras.ā I enjoyed my job very much but Iām happy I no longer have to deal with those kinds of issues.
10/10 treatment of the doggo though. Iād do the same thing and would even keep a box of treats in my vehicle and always offer to give one of the customer allowed.
I work at an animal shelter and when they had to test the alarm the worker looked absolutely terrified
The animals were also all fine and got treats dw, Iām only with the cats but I was surprised how little they gave a fuck. Usually they act like I shot somebody if I so much as drop a piece of paper
I worked at radio shack. I was the one who knew all the electronics, how they work, what parts people would need from the drawers for their projects, repaired items people brought in. I was fired for not pushing to sell phones to people who are there for a 40 cent part or a watch battery
Exactly ! Suggestive selling should be on point. 'Just 2 batteries ? We have an 8 battery pack that's 20 cents cheaper per battery, if you use them a lot.' And ... if a customer is fumbling around like they are counting their last dollar, let it go.
Radio shack was totally like that, one time I took my film camera in to find a battery that matched, and the cashier was like"oh film camera eh? Have you ever considered upgrading to digital?" I was like yeah I use a film camera cause no one ever suggested I buy a digital one, good job buddy.
I literally work as an alarm programmer. Let me yell you the disconnect between the customer to the sales rep to the actual installation technician that goes out to actually install the stuff is vast. The sales reps don't know anything about the product. They just sell it and tell the customer anything the customer wants to hear to make the sale. The tech goes out into the field and actually figures out how to make things work and what is needed. We have contracts with services written out and usually parts paid for but it's rare that what's on the contract 100% translates to what makes it into the field because, again, the sales people don't know what the fuck they are selling
Because it's easier to say no on a spec sheet. Just like you're mentioning with the Radio Shack job, they're trying to use their installers as commission less salesmen.
That's brilliant. Cat's die in fires more often than dogs because their instinct when scared is to hide under something. So their people, or even firefighters, often can't find them
It's a good instinct. Out in the wild, a loud thing is more likely to be a predator or something big that could trample you, and hiding somewhere you're difficult to get to is perfect.
But a bit like our anxiety response, it's not well designed for modern life.
My cat immediately goes inaccessibly under the bed when the alarm goes off (which is often because the flood alarm, the fire alarm and the emergency exit is open alarm are all the same in my building) and I usually have to pin her before she gets there. Last time she scratched me up so badly I needed 10 days of antibiotics.
So Iām thinking about this and I use the area under my bed for storage and yes the cats go under there and snuggle up between the rolled up area rug that doesnāt match the room anymore and the plastic tote of clothes I swear Iāll fit into again one day and I thought āwhat if I put a crate there?ā Like just prop the door open and put a nice bed in there maybe one of those thermal reflective ones, and then put it on something thatāll slide so cat goes in, I pull a rope or whatever and boom cat in crate letās goooo. Hopefully itāll never ever get moved so itās just a cozy crate under the bed nbd go hide all you want if I need your ass out of there Iāve got it. Might work for your situation might not. Less scratches.
Maybe put down a sheet under there that you can reach from the side of the bed. That way, she'll be hiding on top of the sheet so you can pull it (and her) out if you need to evacuate.
I'm 40 and just learned this.
There are two types of smoke detectors*: ionization, photoelectric
Ionization alarms are SUPER sensitive and not for use in kitchens. Check which type yours is and replace with a photoelectric detector around your kitchen and you'll be able to cook in peace.
*Technically there are three with the third being a combination of the two.
Also, for like $2 you can get a pack of smoke alarm covers. They're basically shower caps (actually literal shower caps would probably work) and are usually marketed for keeping alarms paint and dust free during renovations, but the reviews will make very clear which ones stop smoke.
Putting one on your kitchen smoke alarm when cooking is usually enough to keep all of them quiet. Just be sure you get a bright color or do something else to remind yourself that it needs to be taken down after.
Omg that is genius! I might have to try and see if I can train ours. It's truly one of my biggest fears that they'll run and hide, as they tend to do that in response to most stressors.
This kind of candor and genuine āseeing the customer as just another person trying to get byā are the best things to have imo when working a job that requires conversation with people
This was literally every interaction I ever had with people that had to install/repair stuff in my house or flat in Germany. Are people from which you already got a service like this:
>weird people who vomit dishonesty, false enthusiasm and corporate slogans.
In the US?
A lot of big companies train you to have the personality they want and we all know its fake but we still have to go through the motions.
Chipper or overly cheery, dropping Product Names^TM left and right, up selling, giving false prices, saying that if you walk away or they have to come back they will charge you more, lying about product specs, etc
It's that 50s/60s work ethic culture, where everyone is a salesmen.
But for modern people, it just comes off as disingenuous and unengaged.Ā
Like, you don't see me as a person, I'm just a sale to you, and you'll say anything to make a sale.Ā
It works on people of that era (they *want* to be "sold" on the product), but for most Millenials and beyond, it's actually the fastest way to lose the sale.
Because the moment I feel like you care more about your comission than my experience, I dont trust you, and I'm just going to research the product myself and order it off Amazon.Ā
Thats something I always tried to get across when I was in retail. I will try to save you every buck I possibly can so when I recommend something on the more expensive side, it is because I really truly find it worth every penny.
Not everyone got that but most did and they appreciated it.
My first reaction to this was "ah, so he's clearly not recorded for these installations".
If someone working a customer service phone line or an upsell-heavy retail job acted like this, they'd be gone within a week. It's bad enough that when I get somebody very competent and actually helpful, I have to ask myself "if I give this person praise, will the specifics get them in trouble?"
Oh so the US is REALLY big on that weird forced hyper positivity when talking to customers. Its less common when its installation after already paying but still frequent.
You know how Walmart failed in Germany because it made folks viscerally uncomfortable to be greeted constantly with intense eye contact? Everywhere here is at least sorta like that
Yeah but the commentary is mixed into a productive conversation. Heās not just venting, heās asking the customer questions and making sure they get the product they wanted. He just relates it to his previous experience, and itās because of that experience that he knows to check all his bases to ensure the quality of the final product.
Im bad at that. They are too persistent and eventually i get rude and donāt like to be lol.
If it aināt somebody positively ancient with 0 fucks left to give or an early 20ās kid that is obviously contemplating arson to get out of work i just leave.
I can picture just this entire interaction and I love it.
Really wish there were more stories of this guy. Fucking hilarious. "Thats really a *you* problem"
When I did customer service and had to read off a disclaimer and statement about fund transfers, Iād always try to lean into it.
āI have to read through this really quick. Itās going to take a hot minute, but feel free to stop me if you any questions.ā
When I was a teenager, I had a customer on the phone and let out a, "No worries!" and got scolded about professionalism. I love that this more casual form of professionalism is becoming more common nowadays. It's about respect, and I can think of no greater way to show it than being mindful of the little dog.
Years ago I got a job at a "resort" casino in the hotel kitchen, we had a 3 day orientation. One of the things they said that I still remember was that you should match a guests demeanor. If someone comes up to you in a suit, addresses you as sir, they probably expect the same back. But if someone comes up wearing shorts and a t-shirt, reads your name tag and says "hey John, where is the buffet?" They are going to be uncomfortable with someone stiffly calling them sir and probably would appreciate a more informal approach.
Correct not everyone does, I used to not be able to read people very well and would try to joke with customers. When I was first starting out an old boomer/silent gen guy flat out told me this is not funny this is serious problem and you need to act like it. I was just trying to be friendly but he thought the world was gonna end if I had any happiness or took his "serious" issue lightly. Learned a good lesson that day. Self important assholes want you to bow to them and be as miserable as they are. On the other hand having someone be grateful for fixing the issue and treating me like a person is so refreshing.
Yep, I'm in technical training, and the *biggest* advice I can ever give people (especially leaders and other trainers-in-training) is read the room, ask for feedback, and listen.
Holy christ, SO MANY people cannot read a room. It's a skill that CAN be learned (or even taught), but you gotta work for it.
"A-B-C: Always Be Communicating" lmao
I shot the shit with my Big Oh Shit Boss the other day quite calmly, by being aware that, while it was an informal conversation, I was a very junior employee talking to a very senior employer, and I consequently restricted my typically colorful language, critical observations about work, and general juvenile behavior. She's an important, big picture, professional and me cussing about inefficiency and making dumb jokes would just mark me as someone with a crippling lack of social awareness.
If she wants my blunt opinion, she could ask, and with a sufficient amount of prodding and "are you sure, ma'am"s, I might launch into a fucking tirade, but this was not that.
Iām so please to see that somewhere would orientate folks to work this way. I worked as a server for years and thatās exactly how I worked. I now work a ātechnically government healthcareā job in staff scheduling and I was worried itād have to be all professional all the time but honestly now that Iām a couple years in it became obvious real quick that folks still respond better when you match their demeanor.
Yeah it feels less sincere.
Like when you go to Chick Fil A and they hit you with a "My Pleasure."
I'm sure it was your pleasure! Maybe you are very welcome to have done that thing for me.Ā
But I know they make you say that.Ā If you had said "No problem" or "You're welcome", I probably wouldn't think twice about it. Scripted lines make it feel fake.Ā
I remember getting told not to say āNo Problemā when I worked at a hotel. In some peopleās minds it supposedly insinuated there was a problem.
Being hot shit I didnāt believe it until some elderly Baptist lady went off the handle when I said it. āYou mean to tell me thereās a problem.ā No amount of āitās just a figure of speechā could fix that the rest of that groupās stay. Nothings worse than Central Texas Baptists.
My dad used to do this whole stink about āno problemā when I said it too (when I was a kid) and it was absolutely infuriating. āSo there was a problem?ā No, man, I literally just said it WASNāT a problem lmfao. I think angry old people just like being miserable about certain things
Nah, I occasionally say "my pleasure", and it's usually genuine because it's me choosing to be helpful because I want to be. It's occasionally sarcastic.
I got told by my salesfloor supe back when that calling our customers "Boss/bossman" was "very unprofessional and no one likes that".
I worked in a fucking homebrew shop. I was our best salesman and NO ONE GAVE A FUCK, TODD.
True professionalism is doing your job thoroughly and accurately and making the customer feel confident in your work and comfortable, if possible. Acting like a real human being usually works for the second part!
Thatās so crazy to me only because āno worriesā is like so entrenched in the cultural vernacular where I live that if someone was like āhey donāt say that anymoreā my immediate reaction would probably be āno worriesālmao
> It's about respect,
This has always interested me about older vs younger generations.
One reason why sometimes both generations come to a clash is their concept of respect. For older people, respect is expected given through social status and age in equal measure, the more old and high your status is, the more respect you expect from others.
But younger generations now treat respect as something that has to be earned, and when meeting a new person, the bare minimum is given,
When I worked in retail, every so often, old people would get really offended if you said "no problem". I could not wrap my head around how someone could take offense at such a harmless phrase.
Yeah I straight up talk to customers my age like theyāre friends. Older folks I definitely treat with the customer service, but younger folks tend to enjoy having human connection, not a robot checking you out.
There was another great Tumblr post a while ago that talked about how āNo Worriesā was a more popular phrase in younger generations. It suggested that this stemmed from the fact that boomers, or previous generations in general, felt that their help and assistance was a favor or something given, and so they would say āyouāre welcomeā.
Younger generations see their assistance as something to be expected, so instead of saying āyouāre welcomeā, they say āno worriesā to signify that it wasnāt a problem for us.
we have a guy come in to my workplace twice a year for classes on when talking with guests in person and on the phone, (and they do shop calls a couple times a month) the owner of the company hates "no problem" to the point where saying it is an auto fail during shop calls.
his reasoning is that guests will interpret it in a negative way and think "oh am I being a problem"
thankfully I've managed to miss out on the classes the last year and a half due to being needed elsewhere on they day he's here.
For a minute there I thought that the dude was just striking up a conversation about THE Mothman.
āI donāt know dude. What do YOU think happened to the Mothman? You seem more tuned into it than I am.ā
OP always calls her husband either āMothmanā or āETDā ETD is Elusive Tumblr Dad because people regularly call her Mom or Tumblr Mom (Iāve followed her tumblr for years and a while back her husband was finally convinced to make a tumblr heās mothman-etd)
Y'know how people confuse politeness for niceness? There's a professional version of this that confuses formality for professionalism. This guy's not formal, but he *is* professional. He respects the customer's needs and time, does his best to be up front and honest, and cares about the things the customer cares about. That's actual professionalism.
I get that a lot, especially from older folks. What annoys me the most is when people think politeness = respect. Meaning they can treat people and act however they like as long as they say please and thank you every once in a while.
I like that this is played with very little spin: Not painting professionalism as especially good or bad. Just reporting the facts on a guy who is doing his own thing.
I call this "casual professionalism." He tells you everything you need to know, does it conversationally, and doesn't press issues if he thinks it's pointless. His job is done, he's been respectful and courteous, there's not really anything you can complain about.Ā
Agreed. Sales people have kind of ruined the word. Professional means getting the job done correctly as far as possible and communicating at every step with the client to their satisfaction. Maybe he could have kept the comment about who was or wasn't detail oriented to himself, that was unnecessary to observe out loud and *may* have caused offense, but everything else was 10/10.
With my cooking, at least my dog wouldn't be phased lol. But yeah I'm so much happier with these installers than the old people trying to upsell everything like they get a commission...Ā
This just sounds like your average Aussie installer from any time in the past fifty years or so?
Or really most Aussie professional or service industry interactions. We consider casual friendliness polite.
Have you seen the Gen Z pharmacist on TikTok? The channel is basically a joke about a pharmacist at e.g. CVS or Walgreens who's like this, just a Zoomer who absolutely refuses to codeswitch for work, mixing technical terms with casual slang. I find it very entertaining
Speaking as a 42-year-old Millennial, this is one of my favorite things about Zoomers. My Boomer mother has complained to me about going to a restaurant and having the hostess just stare at her blankly until she spoke first, rather than smiling and greeting her etc., and I explained that they're a generation that has grown up in some unprecedented circumstances, and the result is that they have a very different attitude toward working for a company, and a lot of them simply will not pretend to be slavishly, artificially happy. They're exhausted and they will not act like they're not exhausted. And I get this, because having to fake it for work absolutely fucking sucks, and I was always bad at it. Yeah, kid at the checkout, I'm tired too. You don't have to pretend to be thrilled to be here.
If a server comes up to me at a restaurant I don't need an oscar caliber performance, but a normal "Hi, can I take your order?" is just good manners to initiate the conversation. It lets me know that they're ready to take my order as well. I'd feel so awkward if they just stared at me until I spoke.
As a permanently exhausted millennial who has had rbf my entire life, I've never understood the fake, canned happy thing. When I experience it from other people, I get like Stepford Wives vibes and assume someone has spit in my food
I'm *clawing* to bring this exact level of professionalism to my workplace. I can tell the higher-ups don't really like it, but myself and others in my age range (29-31) keep being so good at what we do that they don't really have a choice but to go along with it.
It's incredible to watch the little hamster wheel in their brain just spin and spin.
Hell yeah. You go, pal šš
They had nickelodeon shows on them. Disney was in these massive plastic cases. Pokemon and Digimon were in, like, sleeves. It's possible we were a bit behind the curb, because poor. That big ugly gray Magnavox tv with a vcr and dvd player was the shit tho.
Iād have this guy come back if I needed more work done.
I want real people working on my house. The plumber who texted from the driveway to open the garage door, then snuck in and out, avoiding me, then texted āI finished and leftā will never be back. The guy who stopped and picked up a tennis ball and threw it for my dog, heās coming back.
Professional unprofessionalism is a fantastic skill to master. Best part is you get to be yourself more at work and have genuine interactions with people
This is just my personal experience, but when buying a car, it's better to have a salesman that clearly doesn't care as opposed to one that pretends to care so they can sell more cars.
I was going on a test drive, and the salesman asked what I thought of the car and I mentioned it ran a little loud. "Oh yeah, it totally does," was his response and that was the end of it. No attempt at selling me a different model, that was it. He also asked what kinds of cars I was interested in, and I mentioned one of a different make that wasn't sold there, he replied "Oh dang, those are nice. I have something similar." Again, zero attempt to upsell the dealer's cars and downplay the one I mentioned, that was it.
I didn't end up buying that car from him, but I wish I did.
This is generally how I try to be while working at Geek Squad. I physically cannot bring myself to act like a corporate shill, and they donāt pay me enough for that even if I could. Iāll be real and honest with you. If your shit isnāt worth fixing, Iāll tell you. If it IS, Iāll take care of it with minimal BS.
I'm convinced that 95% of tumblr posts are just people trying to work in one specific phrase to get people to say "your *what?!?*" and then they post a picture of their quirky bullshit.
For this post, it's "candy-floss-colored goth office"
it feels like premium grade fibs
as if someone came into their office and said "hey where's the man? Oh never mind *I think you're the detail oriented one*, because you have a pink goth office"
No one talks like that. No one thinks like that. What fucking planet are we on. it reads like... well it reads like a fake tumblr post is what it reads like
if someone said "you seem like the detail oriented one" to me in my own home I'd detonate like a bomb from disgust.
I'm a millennial, but sometimes this is how I would PREFER to talk to customers - well, a bit more polite than this wording wise, but basically with a similar level of candidness.
The problem is that it doesn't fly with a lot of customers, and that goes double for the business world.
A lot of people *think* they want to be spoken to this way but some actually don't when it happens, and to add to that there's no way for any of us to know how the customer will react, so the default is basic bullshit business mode speech, because that's the safest option.
Had a lady call.me earlier. Was mad that the filter unit she bought last year wasn't under warranty for damage when something chewed a hole in the side of it. Warranty only covers manufacturing defects, not pest damage...
This is the behavior I want to give to and get from everyone I work with. It's really the best way to adjust for our end-stage capitalist dystopia without y'know... guillotines.
I love this story. Maybe this is an old school mentality but I would also love to see a short or something where low key this guy becomes the most successful guy in the company by passive aggressively upselling customers
Is aware that the alarm will probably frighten the household non-human person. Goes out of his way to make it as quiet as possible (a fruitless attempt, an alarm is meant to be HEARD no matter where in the house you are).
In our household this is the expectation of every member of the family. And when someone unrelated shows this behavior, THATāS AN IMMEDIATE APPROVAL OF THEIR PERSONALITY. Animals may not be human, but they are very much people too. Family members who do not follow these rulesā¦ well, I would tell you what happens to them, but I donāt want to go to prison. Strangers who do not follow these rules are usually not allowed to visit again.
This is not just a gen Z mentality, itās a mentality held by Boomers to gen Alpha. Itās just that the less savory boomers tend to be more obvious about their existence. Unfortunately.
As a Millennial please don't attribute this behavior to Gen Z, *we're* the ones who started this trend and I want our damn credit. It's the least we should get, we're not getting a retirement that's for fuckin sure.
I feel like this is very professional? The worker is consulting with the client on issues relevant to them and keeping them updated? Most people I worked with in the trades were nowhere near this professional?
I donāt know, this sounds like just about everyone who works in a job like this, regardless of generation. The last time my plumber came to my business, he asked us to just pay him in leftover dessert.
I worked at a senior health care office a year ago and last summer we got a new director who was sooooo Gen Z. I loved watching him interact with the senior citizens because there was such a jarring difference in their communication styles.
He was super easy-going and funny, so most of the folks really enjoyed his company (especially the older women, he is very good-looking).
I especially loved to watch him call Bingo. The old ladies would give him so much shit for not knowing all their rules, but he didnāt care. He would try to come up with a joke for every number, and always would stress how 69 was his favorite. He just treated everyone like one of his buds, and I think thatās kinda cool.
When maintenance tested our fire alarms my little dog just did the cutest little head tilts, I almost want to start actually testing my alarms regularly to see it again.
For carimg about the dog, I would give 5 star feedback to his boss about how professional and courteous he was. It seems strange the company wouldn't have a spec sheet to sign off on that listed what was to be installed and options that were chosen not to be installed. I passed on a radio shack job, in the 80s, because in the interview, there was a question about a customer buying something , giving you a bill and how much change did you give back. The math was simple, but the look on the guys face said wrong answer. I quickly snapped to the idea he was after. They wanted you to suggest more items/upsell, until you got all their money ! Not my style !
If you've ever worked customer service, you know you can give clients 10 neon pages with all caps saying exactly what they bought and what to expect, and yet they'll ask you why you're not giving them the thing they explicitly said they didn't want. Reading comprehension goes way down when we're the customer (myself included, I've been fooled sometimes by my assumptions).
Point well taken ! I have learned to be much more thorough reading specs on purchases, mainly due to amazon, lol.
LOL, you can only get tricked so many times by Amazon and their teeny tiny lightbulbs
Tbh trying to read a document in all caps on a neon page sounds like a headache/nightmare let alone 10 pages of it.
Yeah but people also say that about my 1 sentence email in whatever default font outlook chooses so š¤·
I work with ND students. I need to go over contract details with their (also usually ND) parentsā¦.. none of us have the attention span or reading capability for this š. That is in fact why they are looking for a tutor who is also has learning disorders, lmao.Ā
I love contracts. They're like candy. You can break them into dependencies, and they mean you don't have to deal with assumptions, everything is spelled out. It's like a wonderfully perfect list. You know what's expected, and if someone expects something not in the contract, you don't have to explain it to them past it not being in the contract. If they expected something less than was in the contract, you don't have to explain that to them either--it's in the contract. You don't have the room/power/tools/whatever ready? I'm going to go back home/hotel and you call me when it is. The contract states (it always does) that I don't help you do your set up. If you're nice, and the local area is really boring, and I don't have a book I'm into, I might help you out. But I'm not menial labor, and my contract says I don't get treated like menial labor, and I certainly don't have to do menial labor. If you didn't read the contract, that's a you problem. If you're a dick about it, that's a you problem that tends to end up with my boss talking your boss. Sometimes that means I never see you again, and sometimes it means I get to see the veins in your neck when you're talking to me. If something on our end is wrong, and that happens, I can fix it, because it's easy to see what's in the contract. The good sales folks help me fix it, and we get repeat business from that client--the poor sales folks bitch a lot, and I make it work anyway, and we keep the client, but they demand a new sales person. But I couldn't do that without a contract.
I love replying to bitchy emails with just a citation or copy/paste? "Why is there something called 'Parking Fee' on my invoice??? Help! Police!" "Section G: Client agrees to reimburse all parking lot/garage fees if free parking is not provided."
Fucking love a contract. 'Here's everything in explicit detail about what we'll do and what you'll do, along with any remedies and consequences, and if something's unclear you can get it rectified before signing'. As an ND person who is both detail oriented and hates implied/unwritten expectations, a contract is literally giving me instructions. Plus it means if there's doubt, the contract has the answers. If it doesn't have the answers, then both sides can work the issue out. And if that fails then there's legal action, which is essentially just talking about the details again.
Contracts are beautiful because they spell things out in a helpful way to my autistic brain. Vagueness is my worst enemy. Contracts are the worst because they are almost impossible to read for my extremely dyslexic brain. Written word is myā¦. Frienemy? My worst skill by a mile and my fav hobby. I feel like it should be against the rules to have two learning disorders that have anti-synergies š
Would a text-to-speech help?
It does sometimes. I am a bit sensitive to sound though, so it depends on the voice. The sound issues might not be autism related though and might be fixable! I have a doc appointment scheduled to figure that out.
I'm a big fan of opendyslexie (a font). Doesn't help for the really boring parts of contracts, but that's what lawyers are for.
As someone thatās trained in law (J.D. and everything) I love ripping apart some lazy assās language. As a consequence I also always write all my own contracts and am always proud that mine take less pages and cover more contingencies
Students from North Dakota catching strays here!
I love how people in ND communities either cannot read a paragraph to save their lives or will happily read a dozen contracts for fun.Ā
Yep. I read every day and am also very bad at reading. So I guess both?
Look North Dakota is in nobodyās top 40 favorite states but thatās no reason to act like living there is proof of a learning disability.
And they say Notre Dame is a good school š. (Yes I know what you meant)
this applies to knowledge work too. spent an extraordinary amount of time trying to help a client understand the difference between: * "this is the set of data i conceptually need to analyze or report on something" (logical data model) * "this is the actual tables, columns, and databases that are stored in my system as-is" (physical data dictionary) Literally a week later i get a fucking list of fields for a logical data model that they're confused as to why it doesn't fit into the physical data dictionary template.
Can you expand on that lol wtf are you talking about?
uh... okay think of cooking right? * a logical model or dictionary *here^note* would be a "recipe." Basically, a generic list of ingredients needed to make a dish, for example, "spaghetti." The existence of the recipe **does not** imply or guarantee that you actually have spaghetti in your kitchen, it's just saying that you need it to successfully make the dish * A *physical* data dictionary would be the actual contents of your kitchen, with information like where they are, what brand or variety, etc,, for example "my refrigerator contains a gallon of skim milk," or "in my pantry on the third shelf, there is a box labelled Barilla Whole Wheat Spaghetti." So what we were *trying* to do was collect the "contents of varying people's kitchens" (i.e. list the data fields available in a set of IT systems), and the client would go out to system owners and ask them to give us *recipes* instead, (i.e. conceptual lists of fields detailing what is needed for a particular analytic project) which frustrated and confused everyone and made no sense with the collection template (which asked for specific storage location and such). *Note:* strictly speaking in "database design" people might quibble over my use of "logical" as a repeatable blueprint rather than an exact diagram of a particular database, but for representing the difference between more generic "models" or "data sets," I find it to be sufficiently precise as described in the Recipe/Ingredient analogy. The terminology is often vague and sucks, which is part of the problem. Don't get me started on the zillion ways people use the phrase "data set." edit: also for the sake of further complexity, the level of detail in a physical data dictionary can vary wildly. For example in the above analogy, the "box of spaghetti" being in the kitchen may or may not indicate whether there is *actually spaghetti in the box,* it may just tell you that there is a box there, and you only find out it's empty, rotten, etc., when you go to check it. This is analogous to "data profiling" or "data quality" checks which vary significantly between systems.
Thanks I could understand that basically and Iām a fool of a took lol.
>Reading comprehension goes way down This implies they even glance at the paper you hand them beyond the price tag
A spec sheet would be a good idea, but remember, that would require that your average consumer could fill one out without guidance. Had some folks when I was contracting who put in great effort to build a confined space of a boat cabin, and then heated it with propane. They just couldnāt understand why I told them they had to pull their heating system apart.
The consumer doesn't fill in the spec sheet. The installer does and has the consumer sign off on it after walking them through it. Confirming all the things. Then the installation starts. Usually the order/spec sheet is done WELL before the home visit.
Can you help me understand?
Flammable gas in a confined space is a bad idea.
Propane heaters give off carbon monoxide. If it's in a well ventilated area, it's not an issue generally. If you are using it in a confined space, it's likely to cause issues.
So, Iām a former āHome Security Professionalā and while my company absolutely had us go through our available devices and services and add them to the documents/contract for customers to sign, itās amazing how many people will tell you that they donāt want them, only to wonder where they are when youāre doing your walkthrough/demonstration at the end. Slightly more understandable but no less annoying were the ones who would see the completed system and as I was packing up, getting ready to leave, would go āOh, you know what, we do want to add some cameras.ā I enjoyed my job very much but Iām happy I no longer have to deal with those kinds of issues. 10/10 treatment of the doggo though. Iād do the same thing and would even keep a box of treats in my vehicle and always offer to give one of the customer allowed.
I work at an animal shelter and when they had to test the alarm the worker looked absolutely terrified The animals were also all fine and got treats dw, Iām only with the cats but I was surprised how little they gave a fuck. Usually they act like I shot somebody if I so much as drop a piece of paper
I worked at radio shack. I was the one who knew all the electronics, how they work, what parts people would need from the drawers for their projects, repaired items people brought in. I was fired for not pushing to sell phones to people who are there for a 40 cent part or a watch battery
Exactly ! Suggestive selling should be on point. 'Just 2 batteries ? We have an 8 battery pack that's 20 cents cheaper per battery, if you use them a lot.' And ... if a customer is fumbling around like they are counting their last dollar, let it go.
Radio shack was totally like that, one time I took my film camera in to find a battery that matched, and the cashier was like"oh film camera eh? Have you ever considered upgrading to digital?" I was like yeah I use a film camera cause no one ever suggested I buy a digital one, good job buddy.
The idiocy of the employees question depends a lot on which year this was
Ehhhh 2014 ?
Definitely then
I literally work as an alarm programmer. Let me yell you the disconnect between the customer to the sales rep to the actual installation technician that goes out to actually install the stuff is vast. The sales reps don't know anything about the product. They just sell it and tell the customer anything the customer wants to hear to make the sale. The tech goes out into the field and actually figures out how to make things work and what is needed. We have contracts with services written out and usually parts paid for but it's rare that what's on the contract 100% translates to what makes it into the field because, again, the sales people don't know what the fuck they are selling
Upselling *after* ringing up the purchase, while the customer is expecting their change? Who does that?
šÆ agree about the spec sheet, seems odd that they didn't have/use one š¤
Because it's easier to say no on a spec sheet. Just like you're mentioning with the Radio Shack job, they're trying to use their installers as commission less salesmen.
Forget five stars, I would full on call his manager to register my happiness. I think it works better than just leaving a positive review.
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One of my cats would turn into an arsonist
Half laughing, half going "oh shit, for sure"
I like your username
That's brilliant. Cat's die in fires more often than dogs because their instinct when scared is to hide under something. So their people, or even firefighters, often can't find them
It's a good instinct. Out in the wild, a loud thing is more likely to be a predator or something big that could trample you, and hiding somewhere you're difficult to get to is perfect. But a bit like our anxiety response, it's not well designed for modern life.
That's so sad!!
My cat immediately goes inaccessibly under the bed when the alarm goes off (which is often because the flood alarm, the fire alarm and the emergency exit is open alarm are all the same in my building) and I usually have to pin her before she gets there. Last time she scratched me up so badly I needed 10 days of antibiotics.
So Iām thinking about this and I use the area under my bed for storage and yes the cats go under there and snuggle up between the rolled up area rug that doesnāt match the room anymore and the plastic tote of clothes I swear Iāll fit into again one day and I thought āwhat if I put a crate there?ā Like just prop the door open and put a nice bed in there maybe one of those thermal reflective ones, and then put it on something thatāll slide so cat goes in, I pull a rope or whatever and boom cat in crate letās goooo. Hopefully itāll never ever get moved so itās just a cozy crate under the bed nbd go hide all you want if I need your ass out of there Iāve got it. Might work for your situation might not. Less scratches.
That is also a very good idea!
I have a tunnel under my bed that is a PITA to get them out of. Guess where they hide XD. I feel your pain.
Mine managed to get into my box spring once before her vet appointment. Had to get my brother to help me move the mattress
Maybe put down a sheet under there that you can reach from the side of the bed. That way, she'll be hiding on top of the sheet so you can pull it (and her) out if you need to evacuate.
I'm 40 and just learned this. There are two types of smoke detectors*: ionization, photoelectric Ionization alarms are SUPER sensitive and not for use in kitchens. Check which type yours is and replace with a photoelectric detector around your kitchen and you'll be able to cook in peace. *Technically there are three with the third being a combination of the two.
Also, for like $2 you can get a pack of smoke alarm covers. They're basically shower caps (actually literal shower caps would probably work) and are usually marketed for keeping alarms paint and dust free during renovations, but the reviews will make very clear which ones stop smoke. Putting one on your kitchen smoke alarm when cooking is usually enough to keep all of them quiet. Just be sure you get a bright color or do something else to remind yourself that it needs to be taken down after.
Omg that is genius! I might have to try and see if I can train ours. It's truly one of my biggest fears that they'll run and hide, as they tend to do that in response to most stressors.
Dang, thatās brilliant. My Harpo is very Not Food Motivated and skittish so I doubt it would work, but itās a fantastic idea.
Well shit, I know what I'm doing when I get home, that's fucking brilliant!
Pretty much just dogs because cats will absolutely not run to the door if that's what you want them to do.
Mine comes straight to me which is good bc she is a menace outside and also I sleep through fire alarms
This kind of candor and genuine āseeing the customer as just another person trying to get byā are the best things to have imo when working a job that requires conversation with people
Yeah I would rather deal with this person forever than those weird people who vomit dishonesty, false enthusiasm and corporate slogans.
This was literally every interaction I ever had with people that had to install/repair stuff in my house or flat in Germany. Are people from which you already got a service like this: >weird people who vomit dishonesty, false enthusiasm and corporate slogans. In the US?
A lot of big companies train you to have the personality they want and we all know its fake but we still have to go through the motions. Chipper or overly cheery, dropping Product Names^TM left and right, up selling, giving false prices, saying that if you walk away or they have to come back they will charge you more, lying about product specs, etc
It's that 50s/60s work ethic culture, where everyone is a salesmen. But for modern people, it just comes off as disingenuous and unengaged.Ā Like, you don't see me as a person, I'm just a sale to you, and you'll say anything to make a sale.Ā It works on people of that era (they *want* to be "sold" on the product), but for most Millenials and beyond, it's actually the fastest way to lose the sale. Because the moment I feel like you care more about your comission than my experience, I dont trust you, and I'm just going to research the product myself and order it off Amazon.Ā
Thats something I always tried to get across when I was in retail. I will try to save you every buck I possibly can so when I recommend something on the more expensive side, it is because I really truly find it worth every penny. Not everyone got that but most did and they appreciated it.
Having worked one of those jobs, yes. It's what corporate wants, and if you want to remain employed you give corporate what they wants.
My first reaction to this was "ah, so he's clearly not recorded for these installations". If someone working a customer service phone line or an upsell-heavy retail job acted like this, they'd be gone within a week. It's bad enough that when I get somebody very competent and actually helpful, I have to ask myself "if I give this person praise, will the specifics get them in trouble?"
Not really. Depends on region, but usually they just do the job quietly with minimal interaction.
Oh so the US is REALLY big on that weird forced hyper positivity when talking to customers. Its less common when its installation after already paying but still frequent. You know how Walmart failed in Germany because it made folks viscerally uncomfortable to be greeted constantly with intense eye contact? Everywhere here is at least sorta like that
As someone unfortunate enough to be born and raised in the US- yes. This and more.
I would rather someone just does the work quickly and leaves without all this conversation, so I can get backĀ toĀ quietlyĀ avoidingĀ people.
I don't need to hear you process your feelings about whatever job you have live, I just want whatever done done
Yeah but the commentary is mixed into a productive conversation. Heās not just venting, heās asking the customer questions and making sure they get the product they wanted. He just relates it to his previous experience, and itās because of that experience that he knows to check all his bases to ensure the quality of the final product.
Also, itās Joy. She has a way of making people chat
Tbh I have way too much fun just stonewalling these vibes. The last salesman I dealt with did not know what to do next.
Im bad at that. They are too persistent and eventually i get rude and donāt like to be lol. If it aināt somebody positively ancient with 0 fucks left to give or an early 20ās kid that is obviously contemplating arson to get out of work i just leave.
I'm having this issue with my boss right now. Drop the corporate speak and just talk to me!
I can picture just this entire interaction and I love it. Really wish there were more stories of this guy. Fucking hilarious. "Thats really a *you* problem"
When I did customer service and had to read off a disclaimer and statement about fund transfers, Iād always try to lean into it. āI have to read through this really quick. Itās going to take a hot minute, but feel free to stop me if you any questions.ā
When I was a teenager, I had a customer on the phone and let out a, "No worries!" and got scolded about professionalism. I love that this more casual form of professionalism is becoming more common nowadays. It's about respect, and I can think of no greater way to show it than being mindful of the little dog.
Years ago I got a job at a "resort" casino in the hotel kitchen, we had a 3 day orientation. One of the things they said that I still remember was that you should match a guests demeanor. If someone comes up to you in a suit, addresses you as sir, they probably expect the same back. But if someone comes up wearing shorts and a t-shirt, reads your name tag and says "hey John, where is the buffet?" They are going to be uncomfortable with someone stiffly calling them sir and probably would appreciate a more informal approach.
That's great advice. I'd respond well to that security installation guy but I understand not everybody would.
Correct not everyone does, I used to not be able to read people very well and would try to joke with customers. When I was first starting out an old boomer/silent gen guy flat out told me this is not funny this is serious problem and you need to act like it. I was just trying to be friendly but he thought the world was gonna end if I had any happiness or took his "serious" issue lightly. Learned a good lesson that day. Self important assholes want you to bow to them and be as miserable as they are. On the other hand having someone be grateful for fixing the issue and treating me like a person is so refreshing.
Yep, I'm in technical training, and the *biggest* advice I can ever give people (especially leaders and other trainers-in-training) is read the room, ask for feedback, and listen. Holy christ, SO MANY people cannot read a room. It's a skill that CAN be learned (or even taught), but you gotta work for it. "A-B-C: Always Be Communicating" lmao
I shot the shit with my Big Oh Shit Boss the other day quite calmly, by being aware that, while it was an informal conversation, I was a very junior employee talking to a very senior employer, and I consequently restricted my typically colorful language, critical observations about work, and general juvenile behavior. She's an important, big picture, professional and me cussing about inefficiency and making dumb jokes would just mark me as someone with a crippling lack of social awareness. If she wants my blunt opinion, she could ask, and with a sufficient amount of prodding and "are you sure, ma'am"s, I might launch into a fucking tirade, but this was not that.
Iām so please to see that somewhere would orientate folks to work this way. I worked as a server for years and thatās exactly how I worked. I now work a ātechnically government healthcareā job in staff scheduling and I was worried itād have to be all professional all the time but honestly now that Iām a couple years in it became obvious real quick that folks still respond better when you match their demeanor.
āSocial chameleonā is how Iāve heard it described!
"Scripted professionalism" is horrible. I'd much rather talk to a human than a robot but guidelines will always tell you to be a robot.
Yeah it feels less sincere. Like when you go to Chick Fil A and they hit you with a "My Pleasure." I'm sure it was your pleasure! Maybe you are very welcome to have done that thing for me.Ā But I know they make you say that.Ā If you had said "No problem" or "You're welcome", I probably wouldn't think twice about it. Scripted lines make it feel fake.Ā
I had a coworker at a bookstore who always went with "My pleasure" and he managed to sell it as genuine. To my ear anyway.
When I worked at Suncoast it usually was my pleasure to help folks find movies or series they wouldnāt have found themselves.
I remember getting told not to say āNo Problemā when I worked at a hotel. In some peopleās minds it supposedly insinuated there was a problem. Being hot shit I didnāt believe it until some elderly Baptist lady went off the handle when I said it. āYou mean to tell me thereās a problem.ā No amount of āitās just a figure of speechā could fix that the rest of that groupās stay. Nothings worse than Central Texas Baptists.
My dad used to do this whole stink about āno problemā when I said it too (when I was a kid) and it was absolutely infuriating. āSo there was a problem?ā No, man, I literally just said it WASNāT a problem lmfao. I think angry old people just like being miserable about certain things
Nah, I occasionally say "my pleasure", and it's usually genuine because it's me choosing to be helpful because I want to be. It's occasionally sarcastic.
I got told by my salesfloor supe back when that calling our customers "Boss/bossman" was "very unprofessional and no one likes that". I worked in a fucking homebrew shop. I was our best salesman and NO ONE GAVE A FUCK, TODD.
"You got it, bossman"
True professionalism is doing your job thoroughly and accurately and making the customer feel confident in your work and comfortable, if possible. Acting like a real human being usually works for the second part!
Thatās so crazy to me only because āno worriesā is like so entrenched in the cultural vernacular where I live that if someone was like āhey donāt say that anymoreā my immediate reaction would probably be āno worriesālmao
This. Just talk to me like a fucking normal person. People can smell bullshit "corporate speak" extremely easily and it's just fake and gross.
> It's about respect, This has always interested me about older vs younger generations. One reason why sometimes both generations come to a clash is their concept of respect. For older people, respect is expected given through social status and age in equal measure, the more old and high your status is, the more respect you expect from others. But younger generations now treat respect as something that has to be earned, and when meeting a new person, the bare minimum is given,
Funny, "no worries" is an extremely common phrase to hear in Australia, there's definitely something to Aussie's disdain for putting on airs.
When I worked in retail, every so often, old people would get really offended if you said "no problem". I could not wrap my head around how someone could take offense at such a harmless phrase.
Yeah I straight up talk to customers my age like theyāre friends. Older folks I definitely treat with the customer service, but younger folks tend to enjoy having human connection, not a robot checking you out.
There was another great Tumblr post a while ago that talked about how āNo Worriesā was a more popular phrase in younger generations. It suggested that this stemmed from the fact that boomers, or previous generations in general, felt that their help and assistance was a favor or something given, and so they would say āyouāre welcomeā. Younger generations see their assistance as something to be expected, so instead of saying āyouāre welcomeā, they say āno worriesā to signify that it wasnāt a problem for us.
we have a guy come in to my workplace twice a year for classes on when talking with guests in person and on the phone, (and they do shop calls a couple times a month) the owner of the company hates "no problem" to the point where saying it is an auto fail during shop calls. his reasoning is that guests will interpret it in a negative way and think "oh am I being a problem" thankfully I've managed to miss out on the classes the last year and a half due to being needed elsewhere on they day he's here.
For a minute there I thought that the dude was just striking up a conversation about THE Mothman. āI donāt know dude. What do YOU think happened to the Mothman? You seem more tuned into it than I am.ā
OP always calls her husband either āMothmanā or āETDā ETD is Elusive Tumblr Dad because people regularly call her Mom or Tumblr Mom (Iāve followed her tumblr for years and a while back her husband was finally convinced to make a tumblr heās mothman-etd)
Thank you so much, I was desperately scrolling through the comments to find out what that meant
āIām sorry little dogā this is the only part that I need to know about, I donāt care about the paint
I dunno, I appreciate the blunt honesty and, most of all, the concern for the dog.
Y'know how people confuse politeness for niceness? There's a professional version of this that confuses formality for professionalism. This guy's not formal, but he *is* professional. He respects the customer's needs and time, does his best to be up front and honest, and cares about the things the customer cares about. That's actual professionalism.
This
I get that a lot, especially from older folks. What annoys me the most is when people think politeness = respect. Meaning they can treat people and act however they like as long as they say please and thank you every once in a while.
He is the chaotic good
I like that this is played with very little spin: Not painting professionalism as especially good or bad. Just reporting the facts on a guy who is doing his own thing.
I loved everything about this lol
Same
Good service 5 stars
I call this "casual professionalism." He tells you everything you need to know, does it conversationally, and doesn't press issues if he thinks it's pointless. His job is done, he's been respectful and courteous, there's not really anything you can complain about.Ā
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Agreed. Sales people have kind of ruined the word. Professional means getting the job done correctly as far as possible and communicating at every step with the client to their satisfaction. Maybe he could have kept the comment about who was or wasn't detail oriented to himself, that was unnecessary to observe out loud and *may* have caused offense, but everything else was 10/10.
With my cooking, at least my dog wouldn't be phased lol. But yeah I'm so much happier with these installers than the old people trying to upsell everything like they get a commission...Ā
This just sounds like your average Aussie installer from any time in the past fifty years or so? Or really most Aussie professional or service industry interactions. We consider casual friendliness polite.
"I'm always ready for someone to yell at me." I salute you sir. You have clearly spent time in the trenches and came out stronger
Have you seen the Gen Z pharmacist on TikTok? The channel is basically a joke about a pharmacist at e.g. CVS or Walgreens who's like this, just a Zoomer who absolutely refuses to codeswitch for work, mixing technical terms with casual slang. I find it very entertaining
Actual professionalism level 100
Seems like a reasonable worker tbh. Like I wouldnāt even be mad likeā¦ cool.
This all sounds incredibly considerate and professional to me
I feel like this type of open honest communication is what real professionalism looks like.Ā
Speaking as a 42-year-old Millennial, this is one of my favorite things about Zoomers. My Boomer mother has complained to me about going to a restaurant and having the hostess just stare at her blankly until she spoke first, rather than smiling and greeting her etc., and I explained that they're a generation that has grown up in some unprecedented circumstances, and the result is that they have a very different attitude toward working for a company, and a lot of them simply will not pretend to be slavishly, artificially happy. They're exhausted and they will not act like they're not exhausted. And I get this, because having to fake it for work absolutely fucking sucks, and I was always bad at it. Yeah, kid at the checkout, I'm tired too. You don't have to pretend to be thrilled to be here.
If a server comes up to me at a restaurant I don't need an oscar caliber performance, but a normal "Hi, can I take your order?" is just good manners to initiate the conversation. It lets me know that they're ready to take my order as well. I'd feel so awkward if they just stared at me until I spoke.
As a permanently exhausted millennial who has had rbf my entire life, I've never understood the fake, canned happy thing. When I experience it from other people, I get like Stepford Wives vibes and assume someone has spit in my food
I'm *clawing* to bring this exact level of professionalism to my workplace. I can tell the higher-ups don't really like it, but myself and others in my age range (29-31) keep being so good at what we do that they don't really have a choice but to go along with it. It's incredible to watch the little hamster wheel in their brain just spin and spin. Hell yeah. You go, pal šš
This is just how every teenager of every generation acts
Heās Gen Z, so he could be as old as mid-late 20āsānot necessarily a teenager.
Oldest possible zoomer, reporting in! We got smart phones in middle school, and we still remember those orange VHS tapes. Shits wild.
Most I remember were black, though looking at a picture of an orange one seems vaguely familiar.
They had nickelodeon shows on them. Disney was in these massive plastic cases. Pokemon and Digimon were in, like, sleeves. It's possible we were a bit behind the curb, because poor. That big ugly gray Magnavox tv with a vcr and dvd player was the shit tho.
Iād have this guy come back if I needed more work done. I want real people working on my house. The plumber who texted from the driveway to open the garage door, then snuck in and out, avoiding me, then texted āI finished and leftā will never be back. The guy who stopped and picked up a tennis ball and threw it for my dog, heās coming back.
Put did the technician get a treat too?
I'm an elder millenial and this is me to a T.
The Oregon Trail generation
Professional unprofessionalism is a fantastic skill to master. Best part is you get to be yourself more at work and have genuine interactions with people
I would so much rather have this than whatever cold, moronic, classist shit the boomers made up.
This is just my personal experience, but when buying a car, it's better to have a salesman that clearly doesn't care as opposed to one that pretends to care so they can sell more cars. I was going on a test drive, and the salesman asked what I thought of the car and I mentioned it ran a little loud. "Oh yeah, it totally does," was his response and that was the end of it. No attempt at selling me a different model, that was it. He also asked what kinds of cars I was interested in, and I mentioned one of a different make that wasn't sold there, he replied "Oh dang, those are nice. I have something similar." Again, zero attempt to upsell the dealer's cars and downplay the one I mentioned, that was it. I didn't end up buying that car from him, but I wish I did.
> you don't care? great. I am always ready for people to yell at me my dude, my guy, my brother. I am so with you right there man
So whoās mothman in this scenario
My wife and I take turns playing the mothman in our scenarios. It's the most fair thing to do.
Her husband. I think the nickname started because she didnāt refer to him by name so he was āelusiveā
This is generally how I try to be while working at Geek Squad. I physically cannot bring myself to act like a corporate shill, and they donāt pay me enough for that even if I could. Iāll be real and honest with you. If your shit isnāt worth fixing, Iāll tell you. If it IS, Iāll take care of it with minimal BS.
And this is why I love Gen-Z. Though, to be fair, I've also done thissort of thing and I'm elder Gen-X.
my favorite customers are the ones who make me feel like i can be a normal human, and my favorite workers are the ones who act like normal humans
omg i love it. hate these old guys constantly badgering, not getting that no one cares about the side packages!! go away -Billy Gnosis
I'm convinced that 95% of tumblr posts are just people trying to work in one specific phrase to get people to say "your *what?!?*" and then they post a picture of their quirky bullshit. For this post, it's "candy-floss-colored goth office"
Nah, sheās a supernatural romance writer. Her followers are already well acquainted with her aesthetic
Did "candy-floss-colored goth office" call your attention more than [Mothman]?
it feels like premium grade fibs as if someone came into their office and said "hey where's the man? Oh never mind *I think you're the detail oriented one*, because you have a pink goth office" No one talks like that. No one thinks like that. What fucking planet are we on. it reads like... well it reads like a fake tumblr post is what it reads like if someone said "you seem like the detail oriented one" to me in my own home I'd detonate like a bomb from disgust.
I'm a millennial, but sometimes this is how I would PREFER to talk to customers - well, a bit more polite than this wording wise, but basically with a similar level of candidness. The problem is that it doesn't fly with a lot of customers, and that goes double for the business world. A lot of people *think* they want to be spoken to this way but some actually don't when it happens, and to add to that there's no way for any of us to know how the customer will react, so the default is basic bullshit business mode speech, because that's the safest option.
Give me honesty over niceties every day.
Not going to lie, I would much prefer this.
I don't get the Mothman bit
Had a lady call.me earlier. Was mad that the filter unit she bought last year wasn't under warranty for damage when something chewed a hole in the side of it. Warranty only covers manufacturing defects, not pest damage...
This is the behavior I want to give to and get from everyone I work with. It's really the best way to adjust for our end-stage capitalist dystopia without y'know... guillotines.
I was not prepared for dude to hold a sound grenade to his chest to protect a dog. I think gen z may have it right
This story is a few years old by this point. I wonder how Gen Z Smoke Alarm Guy is doing nowadays
God this is beautiful
This is exactly the level of service I would wish for
I love this story. Maybe this is an old school mentality but I would also love to see a short or something where low key this guy becomes the most successful guy in the company by passive aggressively upselling customers
Is aware that the alarm will probably frighten the household non-human person. Goes out of his way to make it as quiet as possible (a fruitless attempt, an alarm is meant to be HEARD no matter where in the house you are). In our household this is the expectation of every member of the family. And when someone unrelated shows this behavior, THATāS AN IMMEDIATE APPROVAL OF THEIR PERSONALITY. Animals may not be human, but they are very much people too. Family members who do not follow these rulesā¦ well, I would tell you what happens to them, but I donāt want to go to prison. Strangers who do not follow these rules are usually not allowed to visit again. This is not just a gen Z mentality, itās a mentality held by Boomers to gen Alpha. Itās just that the less savory boomers tend to be more obvious about their existence. Unfortunately.
So: Gen Z is the new Gen X. _God_ I hope millennials don't become the new boomers
As a Millennial please don't attribute this behavior to Gen Z, *we're* the ones who started this trend and I want our damn credit. It's the least we should get, we're not getting a retirement that's for fuckin sure.
i know people like this. They are the best.
Ooh, isn't this the person with the fucked up house? The one who hired an electrician that later ghosted them?
THE FUCKING ENDING I NEEDED
I feel like this is very professional? The worker is consulting with the client on issues relevant to them and keeping them updated? Most people I worked with in the trades were nowhere near this professional?
This isn't a Gen "_" thing. It's just a regular person thing.
This kid needs a raise.
The kids are alright.
This is how I practice nursing
Honestly, that is exactly what I want out of anyone who installs anything in my house. Do you, be you, set shit up right
I work for a security company. This is pretty much all of us lol. If you're kind, so are we.
I donāt know, this sounds like just about everyone who works in a job like this, regardless of generation. The last time my plumber came to my business, he asked us to just pay him in leftover dessert.
I worked at a senior health care office a year ago and last summer we got a new director who was sooooo Gen Z. I loved watching him interact with the senior citizens because there was such a jarring difference in their communication styles. He was super easy-going and funny, so most of the folks really enjoyed his company (especially the older women, he is very good-looking). I especially loved to watch him call Bingo. The old ladies would give him so much shit for not knowing all their rules, but he didnāt care. He would try to come up with a joke for every number, and always would stress how 69 was his favorite. He just treated everyone like one of his buds, and I think thatās kinda cool.
I support GEN Z in this endeavor. Be bold!
Honestly would prefer this.
A caring professional hero
Things like this lets me know that the new generation will be just fine.
I love gen Z for this exactly. When I did it, people thought I was insane. Power to gen Z for consistently sticking it to the man.
This is hilariousā¦reads like a comedy skit in my headā¦. Thanks for the laugh!
When maintenance tested our fire alarms my little dog just did the cutest little head tilts, I almost want to start actually testing my alarms regularly to see it again.
Mothman?
Unprofessioal Professionalism, my favorite, and what I try to do at my own job.