Customer support agents are frequently treated like private-sector workers, as though they must get the blessing of the client before proceeding with their day. This makes the job extremely unpleasant. However, what would you do if an aggressive customer visited your establishment with the express intent of disobeying the safety rules that were set in place to protect the public? Would you rather they learned their lesson the hard way or would you try to stop them from doing something that coul…

Black tie optional

Another day in retail work, another entitled customer . That's the way of the world for the brave souls who work at retail shops, including u/CmdrGrayson, an assistant manager at a clothing store. There are customers who treat retail workers like people. Maybe they've worked in retail themselves, and know how grueling that job can be. But other customers do not care about the thoughts or feelings of the workers at all. They're happy to belittle them or mock them for no reason at all. It makes y…

There's this interesting thing that happens with KPIs, targets, and business focus. Sure, putting impetus into these areas will usually result in increasing them, creating the image of a larger, healthier, more profitable business. But what is the cost? More, importantly, where is the cost? You're not looking for it, you're not tracking it, and you won't know what it is and probably won't even know where it was or how to measure it until it's too late. This happens all the time in businesses wh…

Goal achieved, but at what cost?

Staying up to date with technology has become an essential part of working-class life. It can be exhausting, especially with how quickly technology is advancing today. Think about it: not long ago, the internet didn't even exist. Now, we have a whole generation of employees working remotely or in a hybrid capacity. Who would've thought? But no matter your job, whether you work in a corporate office, factory, or restaurant, technology is constantly changing . New software to improve work process…

You're never too young to stand up for yourself.

You know your work environment is toxic if you have to describe your supervisor as a “tyrant.” This employee had one of those bosses that no one likes. Not a single person in the company is happy to see that boss when she walks in the door, probably because she had a habit of flipping out over any and everything. No one wants to have a micromanager boss , especially not one who is constantly flipping out. It's not good to have to be in a constant state of fight or flight over office work! And t…

Every restaurant or store has to deal with people attempting to leave without paying. In stores, it is easier to prevent people from doing it, because they have to leave the premises with a physical item at hand, and it is pretty simple to track the items and make sure they are not stolen. In restaurants, is it a bit more complicated, since a customer consumes the food before they actually pay for it, so they can just up and leave when no one is looking, and never pay a dime. Surely every resta…

Even if the business has needs for weekend coverage or is experiencing an emergency period of high load and you did need your workers to work an additional day… it would be best to—no, anyone in their right mind would—approach the subject delicately, respectfully, and tactfully. Coming out and declaring to your workers that they should “Kiss their weekend hiking trips goodbye” or anything of that nature would be downright inadvisable… Especially when it's intended to be a pointed comment person…

The world of business isn't always fair. People would do whatever it took to succeed and build a name for themselves in the industry. That being stated, how would you react if your employers, who were strapped for cash, decided to offer you a fake promotion along with a pay cut? The story below is an account of a frustrated employee. The original poster (OP) had been employed by the same company for over a year. A few weeks ago, OP's managers approached him and said they would like to give him…

There's nothing better than getting along with your coworkers. After all, you're together a lot, and there's nothing like bonding with your coworkers over the shared misery of sitting in a cubicle for eight hours a day. You've got someone to share your coffee breaks with, someone to help you with that pesky Excel spreadsheet, and someone to vent to when your boss schedules a meeting on Friday afternoon. It's like having a built-in support system, except instead of therapy sessions, you just g...

The finance department at this company learned exactly who they shouldn't be messing with. U/thelastword4343 shared their story of some very petty revenge within their job as a project manager for a small company. Project managers have a lot to take on, and they need to be very organized. This person claims they are, but the company's finance department just doesn't see eye to eye with them. That can happen in companies: different departments feel territorial or hold petty grudges, and it can a…

They say the best revenge in life is success… That teacher who said you'd never make it? That bully in high school? Anyone who doubted you or tried to keep you down. Well, the best thing you can do is go on to prove that you're not as weak or insignificant as they're telling you you are. Of course, although not as often discussed, going on to leave a peaceable existence of mediocrity is also an acceptable option if that's what you prefer, though decidedly less exciting of a story. This employee…

Working in the retail and customer service industry is not for the faint of heart. One minute you're helping a sweet old lady find the perfect pair of shoes; the next, you're dealing with a Karen who's demanding to speak to the manager. And returns are a whole other adventure. It's like some people think the store is their personal rental service. Despite the challenges, there's nothing quite like the satisfaction of helping someone find exactly what they're looking for...or maybe it's just...

When you have someone in your organization, or externally who your organization is paying, specifically to do a task… It makes sense to let them do that task; if you insist on your involvement and time being spent on that same task, all you're doing is double handling and wasting your own time and the organization's money. And, yet, so many managers struggle with this simple concept, refusing to relinquish even the smallest, most important things to those who should be responsible for them, bog…