Current Events > Why is the idea that customer service jobs are "super hard" a thing?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Like I get they suck and the workers should be treated a bit better but they act like working a long line at Starbucks is worse than being a courier out in triple digit heat lol

This topic is surely made in good faith and is not just here to stir shit up.

Because people suck so therefore a job that deals with people inherently sucks as well.

Have you ever met a customer?

Vokrent posted...

This topic is surely made in good faith and is not just here to stir shit up.

I've been pulled over for 20 minutes waiting for a smoothie. I'm a little cranky lmao. I had to go in there and ask what the deal was. People that were there after me were getting their shit before me. I do tend to be nice to these workers. But I was like what's going on?

Antifar posted...

Have you ever met a customer?

I work at FedEx as a courier.... customers blow but at least you're not in a battle with the elements lmao

You're treated as a second class citizen where the customer has all the power, it takes a drain on you

I really hope nobody bites on this shit tier bait.

Stallion_Prime posted...

Like I get they suck and the workers should be treated a bit better but they act like working a long line at Starbucks is worse than being a courier out in triple digit heat lol

Both of those suck. The difference though, is that being a courier in harsh weather is a worst case scenario, as opposed to it being a constant scenario, like barrage of customers at a place like Starbucks.

NoxObscuras posted...

Both of those suck. The difference though, is that being a courier in harsh weather is a worst case scenario, as opposed to it being a constant scenario, like barrage of customers at a place like Starbucks.

I mean... physical work is daily. They could be carrying 150 pounds up multiple stairs AND deal with shitty customers.

Stallion_Prime posted...

It's okay to call out workers sometimes.

The only reason you made this topic was to shit on food/retail service workers.

It's a strawman to say "Because you're saying it's hard, you're also saying it's litterally the hardest job ever!"

Plus a lot of couriers do have to deal with customers.

The point is customer service jobs are low paid and you are treated like shit. Meanwhile almost all people earning 6 figures literally would not be able to do a customer service job, they would not physically or mentally be able to handle it.

Yet they are looked down on.

Look at covid. All jobs that were "non essential" were shut down and all the guys who work at Wal-Mart and get yelled at all day had to still go into work. The country literally cannot run without them

I can safely say that in my experience retail work was simutaniously the worst, hardest and lowest paid work I've ever done in my life and society is completely ass backwards about it.

Stallion_Prime posted...

I mean... physical work is daily. They could be carrying 150 pounds up multiple stairs AND deal with shitty customers.

Okay, but you already admitted that you made this topic because you've been waiting on your smoothie for a long time. Don't shit on customer service jobs just because you're salty lol.

Guns_of_Verdun posted...

Meanwhile almost all people earning 6 figures literally would not be able to do a customer service job, they would not physically or mentally be able to handle it.

This is a legitimately absurd take

Like

Do you honestly think no one working a high paid office job ever worked a customer service job in their life?

Work a customer service and get back to us

let us know how it goes

g980 posted...

This is a legitimately absurd take

Like

Do you honestly think no one working a high paid office job ever worked a customer service job in their life?

A non zero number of them certainly.

g980 posted...

This is a legitimately absurd take

Like

Do you honestly think no one working a high paid office job ever worked a customer service job in their life?

Define high paid.

I think most people earning 6 figures haven't and those who have would not ever want to go back to it and would consider whatever job they are doing considerably easier.

Switching 6 figures to "high paid" and throwing in an absolute "no one" just shows even you know your statement is silly.

You think Elon Musk or Ron Desantis or Taylor Swift could handle working long physical shifts for mim wage while being yelled at by drunks, teens and Karens all day?

You're out of your mind.

These are the same people who can't handle working from home because it's too diffcult for them not to be in an office.

NoxObscuras posted...

Okay, but you already admitted that you made this topic because you've been waiting on your smoothie for a long time. Don't shit on customer service jobs just because you're salty lol.

Would you rather I have yelled at the workers? Lol. People gotta vent man

This is an example of negative solidarity: rather than trying to alleviate the burden on some of your fellow workers, you're more concerned with reminding them of your own burden, or arguing over whose is bigger. This negative solidarity is a major obstacle to either job being made easier, because it only through collective action that that is possible.

Intro2Logic posted...

This is an example of negative solidarity: rather than trying to alleviate the burden on some of your fellow workers, you're more concerned with reminding them of your own burden, or arguing over whose is bigger. This negative solidarity is a major obstacle to either job being made easier, because it only through collective action that that is possible.

youre probably right. tbh.. im just mad af lol

Stallion_Prime posted...

youre probably right. tbh.. im just mad af lol

Channel that anger towards the people making your job miserable, and you will find it a more productive outlet.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

K

TC: because this is hard that cant be that hard!

Pure boomer energy.

Stallion_Prime posted...

Like I get they suck and the workers should be treated a bit better but they act like working a long line at Starbucks is worse than being a courier out in triple digit heat lol

Tell me youve never worked retail or in the service industry without telling me youve never worked retail or in the service industry

Working with and for shitty people can make any job difficult.

Guns_of_Verdun posted...

Define high paid.

I think most people earning 6 figures haven't and those who have would not ever want to go back to it and would consider whatever job they are doing considerably easier.

Switching 6 figures to "high paid" and throwing in an absolute "no one" just shows even you know your statement is silly.

You think Elon Musk or Ron Desantis or Taylor Swift could handle working long physical shifts for mim wage while being yelled at by drunks, teens and Karens all day?

You're out of your mind.

These are the same people who can't handle working from home because it's too diffcult for them not to be in an office.

Plenty of people making six figures have worked retail/customer service

Mostly when they were kids/in college or right after college
you know why? Because even kids are able to work customer service jobs

It's not a moral judgment or a statement on the value of people who work customer service
It's just an unavoidable fact that it is something just about anyone can do

Obviously p much anyone would pick a higher paid office job over a low paid customer service job
But "would prefer not to" is not the same as "couldnt"

Honestly i think it's just insecure copium telling yourself the people in office jobs cant do customer service jobs

Having spent most of my early adult life in customer service, its the easiest shit in the world and theres no excuse to be bad at it. Yeah, customers can be awful, but so what? Be better than the customer for fucks sake.

Customer service jobs aren't hard at all, but they are super hard to deal with.

And here I sit working in a prison. It's like having all the shitty customers crammed into one place. I guess the difference is I have some level of power over them but it doesn't change having to deal with their whniy asses all day

This is the equal and opposite reaction to the topic in which everyone is complaining about "how customers suck" and relishing in how much of a crappy service they gave to perceived bad customers, I take it?

I'll tell you how I see it: I worked as an account manager dealing with a portfolio of important clients for an e-commerce business, overseeing key clients bringing in revenue ranging from tens of thousands to millions of dollars per year. I had a weekly quota of outbound calls to make, which required a "customer service-like" approach, even if being an account manager revolves more around a strategic and coaching mindset. Despite the challenges, I performed well in the role.

Now, I've moved into Operations. My current job is even better paid and is focused on internal stakeholders, conducting strategic analysis of business lines, making recommendations, using Excel, SQL, Tableau and attending internal huddles with directors, VPs, etc. And, do you know one of the parts that really helped my work-life integration? I no longer have to deal with customers. More specifically: I do not have to deal with negative emotions all day; I do not need to explain again policies a hundred times; I do not need to explain why we are not trying to steal; I do not need to give the "that's the way it is" for policies that maybe I do not approve of. All of the above was only a part of my past job, but for an CS Representative is the bread and butter.

In our company, the most tech-savvy account managers have this as a potential career path. The person I took over for even joked, "I hope you're not just applying to escape talking on the phone". Dealing with customers is now a rarity. Before, it was far more draining because I always found that dealing with emotions -- which, again, in customer support are 99% of the time neutral to highly negative -- was far more tiring than dealing with problems, strategies, and generally nicer colleagues.

Sure, my previous job was more "refined" and required higher-level skills, but I still believe that being a customer support representative is the toughest role due to the mental and physical demands. In our company, customer support reps are expected to take calls or respond to emails non-stop until their shift is over, and they must even flag when they need to take a break. They are the frontline soldiers. Even if they paid me 20% more than my current role, I still wouldn't move back to any customer service-like environment.

Circling back on what I said in the past thread: customers are allowed to have less patience with employees, and that is partly what makes being a customer representative such a challenging and demanding job. I have the utmost respect for CS Reps that maintain a professional and warm demeanor (or more broadly, anyone dealing directly with customers), even if they're ultimately unable to solve my problem, exactly because of how hard the job is.

P.S. Note that I am talking about Customer Support, which does not completely overlap as concept with "Customer Service". A "customer service" cashier -- a supermarket's one, or even one of the infamous McDonald's assembly line -- still has a very "physical" job with a lot of mental tasks, but the majority of the interactions with clients should be nondescript. By most accounts, I'd deem that type of front office easier than an AM or a "support representative" role in which you're ultimately called whenever there's a problem.

The work itself is easy, it's getting shit on all day by power tripping management and shitty entitled customers for piss poor pay that is hard.

A job sucking and a job being hard are not the same thing and it really is stupid when people act like menial labor jobs actually involve some kind of skill set that pampered office workers couldnt handle.

Imagine thinking being a courier is hard at all, getting to be outside, listening to music or whatever. Oh is it cold? Wear a coat and get better boots. Oh you're hot? Lol, ok wear a sun hat and drink a lemonade.

Guns_of_Verdun posted...

You think Elon Musk or Ron Desantis or Taylor Swift could handle working long physical shifts for mim wage while being yelled at by drunks, teens and Karens all day?

I think the problem is that in these conversations people conflate three different kinds of "difficult/hard" together and shifts to whichever one someone needs for their argument to be right at that particular moment.

The minimum wage part is irrelevant to how difficult the job is. It does impact the willingness of Elon Musk, Ron DeSantis, or Taylor Swift to *do* the job but it doesn't make the job inherently harder. When I worked at WalMart, my job was incredibly easy by the standard of "ability for someone to do my assigned tasks". It was soul crushing, which did affect my willingness to do it for a longer period of time, and that impact on your work/life "balance" can certainly add some difficulty to your life, but it always leads to this weird framing of customer service jobs as being "super difficult" instead of it framing customer service jobs as being "unenjoyable to work".

It only sucks because 1/3rd of your day is spent working for money that can't even put a steady roof over your head.

There are people who would rather be homeless than being stuck 40 hours a week in a slave cage just to have enough money to afford a broken down shack. Money doesn't buy happiness but freedom does. It's just a matter of how much money have so you have the freedom to make happiness for yourself.

Pretty much everyone thinks their job is hard

Hayame_Zero posted...

Customer service jobs aren't hard at all, but they are super hard to deal with.

Well that would be hard then.

Stallion_Prime posted...

I've been pulled over for 20 minutes waiting for a smoothie. I'm a little cranky lmao. I had to go in there and ask what the deal was. People that were there after me were getting their shit before me. I do tend to be nice to these workers. But I was like what's going on?

Happened to me yesterday. It's one of those things that make life just that little bit less awesome.

But it ain't topic worthy.

Maybe I'm funny, but I'd rather brave the elements and do my job in relative peace than be under AC dealing with Karens all day.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


You could have caught the joke in the beginning of the aforementioned novella.

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]


This is a very good way to put it. The one corollary I'd add here, if patently obvious, is that inclination and interests play a part. I know of team leaders or customer support/service reps who wouldn't do my job because the idea of handling spreadsheets and relational databases makes their heads explode. Otherwise, I think yours is the fairest way to assess the conundrum. I'm in the same camp about there being nothing as stressing as dealing with someone else's problems or negativity (read: customer support) for a good chunk of your daily life. I'd rather re-learn statistics, even if I had to restart from page 1 of a college book.

voldothegr8 posted...

The work itself is easy, it's getting shit on all day by power tripping management and shitty entitled customers for piss poor pay that is hard.

Also companies cutting shifts to skeleton crews so its often impossible to give quality service in a timely fashion. Never updating systems so you have this decades old system that barely functions and crashes all the time.

Not to mention the often low and inconsistent hours.

I think retail jobs vary quite a lot, but the main problem is pyschopathic, bullying, crime committing managers.

Solid_Snake07 posted...

Pretty much everyone thinks their job is hard

My job is stressful and dangerous but I wouldn't call it hard

g980 posted...

Plenty of people making six figures have worked retail/customer service

Mostly when they were kids/in college or right after college
you know why? Because even kids are able to work customer service jobs

It's not a moral judgment or a statement on the value of people who work customer service
It's just an unavoidable fact that it is something just about anyone can do

Obviously p much anyone would pick a higher paid office job over a low paid customer service job
But "would prefer not to" is not the same as "couldnt"

Honestly i think it's just insecure copium telling yourself the people in office jobs cant do customer service jobs

True. My salary is just shy of six figures in US dollars. When you factor in the perks (like a housing allowance) its comfortably over. Ive worked retail, bar, waiting tables, etc in the past. The main motivation for not wanting to go back to it is taking a massive pay cut (and having to move out of my current country of residence) but my current job is definitely harder than those ones were.