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Phone pests I could do without, and other miscellaneous ramblings

2004-03-20 - 8:08 a.m.

Disclaimer

Ah yes, one of the joys of being a receptionist--the annoying people one must deal with on a daily basis, and is not allowed to strangle:

TMI Guy... no, not THAT kind of TMI. This guy just gives me too much information in general, while 16 other phone lines are ringing off the hook. �Good morning! This is Mr. Wilbur J.T. Smith, of Smith, Smith, Jones and Sons Printing Company Incorporated in South Bugtussle, North Carolina. My account number is... �

People, the receptionist does NOT need to know any of this. The receptionist does not have TIME to know about any of this. Granted, he probably has no idea he�s reached the receptionist and not customer service, but I�ll wager customer service wouldn�t need to hear that entire spiel either. For crap�s sake, when you call a company just state your purpose and they�ll ask you for any additional information they need. Criminy.

The Bad Accent... just a little note to those of the deep southern persuasion. The names �Dan� and �Diane� are NOT pronounced the same. Diane has two distinct syllables. Dan has one. When you call up and ask for Dyyyyn, don�t be surprised if I route you to the wrong person, every time. And Boston people? Bob is not short for Bobra. I�m not trying to be difficult. You asked for Bob and we don�t have a Bob. Don�t get all pissy with me just because you have an accent thick enough to stand up a spoon in.

The Name Dropper... this same guy calls 172 times a day, every day, and he needs to understand that I�m just not all that impressed that he knows all of our customer service people by name. It�s the same routine every time:

Him: �Is George busy?�

Me: �I�m sorry, George is on his line. Would you like to leave him a voicemail, or can one of our other customer service people help you?�

Him: �How about Diane?�

Me: �Sorry, she�s on her line too.�

Him: �How about Judy?�

If I don�t stop him, he will ask for each of the five people in turn, and then he�ll tell me he�ll hold for whoever is free first. If any rep will do, why waste time and breath asking for each one in turn? Does he think I don�t know who the reps are?

Hello Hell-o... I can�t tell you how impressed I am that this person is so important that she can�t take a second away from her important business to actually listen to what�s going on at the other end of the phone line when she makes a call. I pick up and say hello. No answer, but I can hear the sounds of the Very Important Discussion my caller is involved in. �Hello, hello?� says I. More discussion, still no answer. �HELLO????????� �Oh, hi, sorry...�

Other than the petty little irritations that come with the title of Chief Phone Answerer, the job is going rather well. I think they like me, at least all of the people I deal with on a regular basis do. I think those people would like me to stay, but I also know that the guy making the hiring decision knows that I am overqualified for the position, and is concerned that I�ll be out the door looking for a new job as soon as I graduate. He asked my temp service about it, and they asked me what my intentions were. It�s kind of worrisome that he�s concerned about that, but not entirely because it means he IS interested in hiring me. It is my mission to convince him that I won�t be finished with school for at least a couple of years, and that since I don�t really have any firm career plans as of yet, I�d certainly be open to working for Graphic Supply Company long-term even after graduation if there is room for me to advance there over time. And meanwhile, I don�t mind the work I�ve been doing at all. And so far, it seems like a great company to work for. Everyone I�ve talked to seems to really like their job, most have been there for several years, and two of the people in other departments started out working as a receptionist. Sounds to me like there is potential here. I�m trying to stay positive and hopeful that it all works out for me to stay.

The fashion overhaul is going rather well, at least in regard to my work wardrobe. I hit a great sale at Lane Bryant and bought myself lots of new tops, I�ve found a pair of khakis and a pair of black pants that actually fit and look good, and I�ve got two new jackets that are just the right style to pull together a professional yet business casual look. For once, I am actually pleased with the way I look for work. I had to go about picking things out in kind of a weird way, though. Apparently, I have some sort of mental block when it comes to figuring out what styles of clothing will give me the look I want. Yet I know it when I see it on someone else. Last week, as a matter of fact, there was this woman working behind the counter at Lane Bryant and I really admired the way her outfit was put together. I realized that THAT was the look I wanted, kind of classy and casual all at the same time, and so for the rest of the shopping trip as I was looking at clothes I tried to imagine what SHE would have picked out. And some of the stuff I picked out for �her� was totally different than anything I would have picked for myself, but when I tried it on I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I looked really good and more importantly, FELT really good in the clothes. I went on to buy a couple of pairs of earrings and a bracelet in �her� style, and I�ve been just as happy with them as I have been with the clothes.

Emulating someone else�s taste seems like a weird, round-about way of getting to know my own personal taste and style, but it�s working much better than my old method of just staring at the racks and grabbing out things I thought were �me.� How could it be that I feel more myself when I�m trying to be like someone else? Although I suppose if a certain woman�s look appeals to me, it simply means that we have the same taste. She just knows how to express it, and I guess for me not knowing how to express my taste in fashion has been the problem all along.

Anyway, today I am taking steps to improve the situation with my hair. I realized that Wyndspirit is right in that I DO always feel much happier with my hair when I trim off the wispy ends. And I�d really like a blunt cut... I haven�t been happy with the bottom line of my hair since a few years ago when I let some snotty idiot hair-butcher at an upscale supposedly long-hair-friendly salon talk me into cutting it into a v-shape, probably the worst shape EVER for a long-haired person prone to developing thin, wispy ends. (He must have had some hostility issues... this is the same guy who told me my natural color was the color of the gunk that collects on the coils on the back of a refrigerator. Should that not have been my clue to run screaming from the salon?)

So today I have an appointment for a haircut with a nice place where I�ve seen them do a marvelous job on the Evil Childe�s hair. I want the ends cut off, and depending on how much length I�d have to lose, I want the bottom to be cut straight across. I�m probably going to have to sacrifice a good 3-4 inches which I�m kind of not happy about. But I�m thinking I need to make myself go through with it in spite of feeling kind of anxious about the whole deal. I think it will be a big improvement in spite of my attachment to the idea of having waist-length or longer hair. And it will continue to grow, and maybe I�ll be enough happier with how it looks during the growing out process if I keep it trimmed up, that it will compensate for slowing up the progress a little.

Right now, I must head off for school. Final exam today, and then I�m free of yet another idiot who has been pissing all over my educational parade for the last few weeks. I don�t think I�ve ever been happier to see the end of a quarter.








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Last Five
Crappy job crap, weird neighbor, and someone whose baby I apparently want to have - 2006-05-08
Live from the dump - 2006-04-09
Kind of like a muzzle for your brain - 2006-03-29
...and then she fell ass-first into my cereal bowl - 2006-03-28
Playing catch-up - 2006-03-27





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