The profound problems of the service sector

[paredler]

The service sector is the largest employer in the world. In western countries, 70% of the population works in retail, fast food, call centers and administration jobs. Even in Africa and Asia, at least 50% of the population works in such industries. For minimum wage workers, there's no other sector they can work in but services.

This sector is dysfunctionate. When online parcels go missing, when your cables don't work or when the food you ordered doesn't arrive on time, you can complain to the call center worker / waiter / any other employee, but there's nothing much that they can do to help you, since they are only the messengers and they don't have access to "behind the scenes".

The service industry is too messy and too violent. If you work in retail, you probably know this scenario of multitasking between so many customers at once. The moment you're on your way to the computer to check something for a customer, another customer asks for help, and when you're done with your first task and are on your way to the second customer other three or four customers are asking for help. Many times they'll ask you to do something that is not in your job description, or things that are just too complicated to do them at the moment. I remember one time, in midst of all the mess, there was a problem with a customer and I needed to check something with another employee who was on vacation, so I called that employee and asked him questions, and then I still didn't find answers to my questions about that customer, so I called more employees and waited on line while the whole store was collapsing from customers.. This is a really unpleasant situation to be in, but service industry employers don't care.

There's no customer management - whomdo we help first? Those who came first? Those with the requests that take the longest to fulfill? Those with the shortest requests so we can let them go first? Those whose requests are a "matter of life and death"? In no company there's any manager who has such customer planning. There's no prioritisation of tasks, everything is equally important, which creates needless stress.

Last but not at all least is the violence that workers face from customers when they make a mistake for getting to confused or too emotionally overwhelmed by multitasking. Your dignity, your very own humanity gets flushed down the toilet for very miniscule mistakes. It's like employees are blamed, humiliated, harassed, insulted, get yelled at, get objects thrown at them for collapsing under the multitasking work environment. this is so unfair. Workers suffer daily at such environment. And they're not allowed to retaliate against rude customers or refuse service to them. Customers almost never get punished for mal-behavior.

This is how the industry takes people and makes them from working people to slaves. This is how customer service employees became synonymous to human punching bags.

 

[Hvergelmir]

While you do highlight valid negative aspects associated with the service sector, you fail to bring up good examples and positive aspects.
Much of this are things I've heard of, but only some of it is at all applicable to the service industry workers I know.

Prioritizing customers and dealing with rude ones is a common problem, with no perfect solution. It's also a common problem outside the service sector and we have to deal with similar situations also outside work.
The companies I know have policies for how to deal with it. If service workers are facing violence, a common policy is to call the police. Quite a few establishments in the service sector even have private security.
This is also in no way limited to just the service sector. Other sectors have their own issues. See manufacturing for a very clear example. If you're easy to replace, there's little cost associated with loosing you.

A more helpful twist of this would be to list what companies to stay clear of. Glassdoor is one platform, attempting to give insight to work conditions on various companies.

I remember one time, in midst of all the mess, there was a problem with a customer and I needed to check something with another employee who was on vacation, so I called that employee and asked him questions, and then I still didn't find answers to my questions about that customer, so I called more employees and waited on line while the whole store was collapsing from customers. This is a really unpleasant situation to be in, but service industry employers don't care.

Here you did your best, and the results came out bad. You then proceed to assign blame to the employer. It's an understandably frustrating situation.
It's also frustrating for the employer. Regardless of circumstances and responsibilities, the service failed in this instance. Everyone lost.
You're better off thinking about what you could have done differently, and what the service (the employer) can do to reduce the likelihood of it happening again.

 

[paredler]

While you do highlight valid negative aspects associated with the service sector, you fail to bring up good examples and positive aspects.
Much of this are things I've heard of, but only some of it is at all applicable to the service industry workers I know.

Prioritizing customers and dealing with rude ones is a common problem, with no perfect solution. It's also a common problem outside the service sector and we have to deal with similar situations also outside work.
The companies I know have policies for how to deal with it. If service workers are facing violence, a common policy is to call the police. Quite a few establishments in the service sector even have private security.
This is also in no way limited to just the service sector. Other sectors have their own issues. See manufacturing for a very clear example. If you're easy to replace, there's little cost associated with loosing you.

A more helpful twist of this would be to list what companies to stay clear of. Glassdoor is one platform, attempting to give insight to work conditions on various companies.

Here you did your best, and the results came out bad. You then proceed to assign blame to the employer. It's an understandably frustrating situation.
It's also frustrating for the employer. Regardless of circumstances and responsibilities, the service failed in this instance. Everyone lost.
You're better off thinking about what you could have done differently, and what the service (the employer) can do to reduce the likelihood of it happening again.

I can give you an even better example, so I can make my point better.

Once, when I worked at a gift card coompany, a customer called and asked me to give her money and she would return us expired gift cards. I asked my boss if we could do it and she said no. I told it to the customer and she let me speak to her manager, who yelled at me and threatenned to sue me if I didn't cooperate with her, I asked my boss's boss if we could give that woman what she wanted, she said no. I asked the accounted whether we could do something, she said no as well. I told that to the customer and she yelled at me like crazy.

 

[Hvergelmir]

I can give you an even better example, so I can make my point better.

Once, when I worked at a gift card coompany, a customer called and asked me to give her money and she would return us expired gift cards. I asked my boss if we could do it and she said no. I told it to the customer and she let me speak to her manager, who yelled at me and threatenned to sue me if I didn't cooperate with her, I asked my boss's boss if we could give that woman what she wanted, she said no. I asked the accounted whether we could do something, she said no as well. I told that to the customer and she yelled at me like crazy.

So... you solved the situation? And you're satisfied with your performance?
Part of your job was to deal with self entitled customers, and as far as you're telling, you did.

The service sector isn't free from uncomfortable situations. Self entitled customers are one source of discomfort. If your point is deeper than that, I failed to see it.

If you were to ask or share advice on how to deal with self entitled customers, I'm sure there could be a valuable discussion around it.

 

[RosebyAnyName]

I hate working in the service sector, it's like other people get a free pass to be abusive towards you because you're working in service. I remember once I was just sweeping up some dirt and a customer, rudely, told me I was "too dumb to know how to use a broom" I guess because I wasn't doing it how they would have done it? Obviously that's not the worst example I've experienced, but it just goes to show that people seem to just see a target on you if you work service, like you're society's free punching bag.

I've even heard people tell me (before I started working in the service sector) that service workers "deserve" to be treated poorly for not getting more education and a "real" job, or that service sector workers are a drain on society for not getting a "more productive" job, as if society wouldn't fall apart if there wasn't an army of people doing low-level labor to keep the wealthy few afloat.

"The customer is always right" was a mistake.

 

[Forever Sleep]

So... you solved the situation? And you're satisfied with your performance?
Part of your job was to deal with self entitled customers, and as far as you're telling, you did.

The service sector isn't free from uncomfortable situations. Self entitled customers are one source of discomfort. If your point is deeper than that, I failed to see it.

If you were to ask or share advice on how to deal with self entitled customers, I'm sure there could be a valuable discussion around it.

I may be wrong here but I had similar experiences working in retail. The company I worked for pretty much axed the role of supervisor. So- you are left with customer assistants and managers. Managers who were very often nowhere to be seen (in their ivory towers) and who sometimes seemed clueless about how things ran on the shop floor. Most of our managers couldn't even work the tills!

So- when that angry customer does come along, a lot of pressure is put on the shop assistant to deal with the problem themselves. Sometimes with store policies that are a bit woolly or, outright will annoy the customer even further. So- what does the assistant do? Stand by the store policy? Sorry sir or madam- we are unable to take this item back. It's not in a condition we can resell it in. Which angers them. Or- we do take it back and it goes unnoticed and some other unfortunate customer ends up with it. Or, a manager does happen to notice and the assistant gets a bollocking. Or, you do the 'right' thing. You stand by the store policy and the customer insists on seeing a manager, who then concedes and gives them what they want. So you think- what's the point? Why did I even bother trying to uphold your policies? Why do I even care if you don't? I imagine it's those kinds of frustrations the OP is having to deal with.

It simply comes down to not being paid enough to deal with the kind of aggravation you're expected to deal with. That goes for a lot of jobs. I expect it all comes down to money too. Middle management jobs being axed all over the place. Lack of staff generally so that they simply aren't able to provide adequate service to everyone.

 

[paredler]

So... you solved the situation? And you're satisfied with your performance?
Part of your job was to deal with self entitled customers, and as far as you're telling, you did.

The service sector isn't free from uncomfortable situations. Self entitled customers are one source of discomfort. If your point is deeper than that, I failed to see it.

If you were to ask or share advice on how to deal with self entitled customers, I'm sure there could be a valuable discussion around it.

I think that in cases like the one I mentioned, I should have refused service to that woman. Her tone and her threatenning was completely unacceptable.

My all point is that workers should have more freedom to refuse service to rude customers so they are more available to take care of nicer customers who would like to cooperate with our terms of services.

I may be wrong here but I had similar experiences working in retail. The company I worked for pretty much axed the role of supervisor. So- you are left with customer assistants and managers. Managers who were very often nowhere to be seen (in their ivory towers) and who sometimes seemed clueless about how things ran on the shop floor. Most of our managers couldn't even work the tills!

So- when that angry customer does come along, a lot of pressure is put on the shop assistant to deal with the problem themselves. Sometimes with store policies that are a bit woolly or, outright will annoy the customer even further. So- what does the assistant do? Stand by the store policy? Sorry sir or madam- we are unable to take this item back. It's not in a condition we can resell it in. Which angers them. Or- we do take it back and it goes unnoticed and some other unfortunate customer ends up with it. Or, a manager does happen to notice and the assistant gets a bollocking. Or, you do the 'right' thing. You stand by the store policy and the customer insists on seeing a manager, who then concedes and gives them what they want. So you think- what's the point? Why did I even bother trying to uphold your policies? Why do I even care if you don't? I imagine it's those kinds of frustrations the OP is having to deal with.

It simply comes down to not being paid enough to deal with the kind of aggravation you're expected to deal with. That goes for a lot of jobs. I expect it all comes down to money too. Middle management jobs being axed all over the place. Lack of staff generally so that they simply aren't able to provide adequate service to everyone.

To me, it's not a matter of money, but a matter of work management. I don't mind getting paid less as long as I ddon't have to deal with rude customers or as long as I can tell them to go f*ck themselvess. Working in the service industry doesn't mean being someone else's punching bag, and if it does, then that's just slavery in "fancy clothes".