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So, as some of you might know by now, I used to work in a grocery store (let’s call it “Merchant’s Bounty”) for a very long time (about nine years at three different locations in the U.S.) and have had interactions with customers that would melt your heart as well as have had interactions with customers that have made me want to scream very loudly into their faces, though I never did that and would choose to suppress those feelings. Suppression is the most commonly used emotional management technique and involves altering unwanted thoughts and inhibiting oneself from verbally and nonverbally expressing how they are feeling (McCornack, 2016). McCornack (2016) also states that “…suppression can be constructive, such as when open communication of anger would be unprofessional, or when anger has been triggered by mistaken perceptions or attributions” (p. 118).
Thus, when in the workplace and confronted with a rude customer that isn’t thinking before they’re speaking, suppression can be a good tool to use to avoid blowing up at someone. I remember a particular time where I was having a rough time at work, and a nice person that I knew as an acquaintance came through the line I was working at the time. We had a nice chat, and in an attempt to not be a time-oriented listener, or trying to make it an exceptionally brief and concise encounter (McCornack, 2016), so I wasn’t trying to rush her off and get to the next customer. Well, the next customer did not appreciate this very much and was like “OK, I’m next, it’s time to help me and stop talking to her.” This lady is obviously a time-oriented listener and had no respect for my attempt at people-oriented listening, or “striving to demonstrate empathy when listening ” (McCornack, 2016, p. 175) with the previous customer. I understand that I wasn’t being empathetic to all parties in this situation now, but at the time, I just thought the lady was plain-vanilla rude. Instead of utilizing suppression (McCornack, 2016) in this instant to keep my anger at bay in reaction to such a blunt way to address me, I chose to rely on my dear, old friend (you might know her): sarcasm! I chose to adopt an unnaturally high tone of voice, which refers to vocalics, a type of nonverbal communication code (McCornack 2016), and speak all of the right words (“So sorry to keep you waiting, let me help you right away”), in addition to smiling like a lunatic, to avoid implication of saying the wrong thing, despite saying it as sickeningly-sweet as possible. She also didn’t care for how I handled this. She then told me that “I had an attitude” where I replied “No, ma’am, I do not have an attitude, I actually believe you to be the one with the attitude.” Then she requested to speak to a manager. For the first time in my life, I had talked back to a customer and it appears I got a “Get out of Jail Free” card in this instance, as the store was very busy at the time and a manager couldn’t come quickly enough to abide by her request, and she ended up leaving. She could have called back and complained, as my name was on the receipt, but she didn’t and for that I am thankful. This particular job had performance-based reviews, and one bad customer complaint is enough to keep someone from getting a raise for an entire six-month cycle. What did I learn from this experience? Well, that it’s always better to use suppression when working in retail, and to save the venting of unwanted emotions for outside of work, with coworkers or friends, though this can often lead to getting upset again in an attempt to share a common experience. I found the most productive way to vent is in a journal, to myself, and freeing the words from my body by putting them on the page, without putting them onto someone else. References dutchpirates. (2016, Nov 11). Cashier-groceries-supermarket-store. Retrieved from https://pixabay.com/en/cashier-groceries-supermarket-store-1791106/ McCornack, S. (2016). Reflect & Relate: An Introduction to Interpersonal Communication, 4th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s. |
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