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> other than talking to customers You're so incredibly fortunate to be in a position where you get to decide you want to interact with customers or not, becaus

> other than talking to customers You're so incredibly fortunate to be in a position where you get to decide you want to interact with customers or not, because the vast majority of workers don't. So many customer service jobs require you to keep cool even when customers are treating you like terrorists, and it can be soul-crushing. Getting shit on constantly for two years as a call center CSR motivated me to get out of that world and into writing software, but not everyone can make that change successfully.

derekp7 8y ago
Those who are successful at interacting with the public basically treat the interactions as if it was an API. A lot of APIs are incomplete, or poorly thought out, but you can still at least do your best with them. Same with interacting with difficult customers, or putting on a smile and being witty with small talk for most other customers. You end up developing a series of canned responses, and don't take anything personally (just like you don't take a "404 not found" personally, or "503 service unavailable").
- save_ferris 8y ago
  I understand the attempt to compare a successful salesperson 's thought process to an API, but it's essentially what this piece argues is wrong with our work culture. And man it makes me cringe. More specifically though, how can you compare a 404 response to a random stranger telling you what a failure you are at life that you're stuck responding to their complaint instead having an "improtant" job like they do? How does a normal person who's struggling to earn a living (call centers don't pay well usually) while having to respond to ruthless, horrible people, not be damaged in the long run by those interactions? They can't even be compared because computers don't communicate with emotion. That's like saying bullying could easily be solved if kids just talked more like APIs did. What?
  - derekp7 8y ago
    You are probably right in that I most likely lost a big part of my soul while adopting this philosophy. But every since I've started treating non-personal interactions in the same way I would treat compiler errors, I've stopped having a strong urge to drink after work, and overall can focus on what is important to me outside of the 9-5. The only thing that really can get under my skin at work anymore is if a situation starts to threaten my job (i.e., backstabbing, gaslighting, setting up for failure, etc). But with this newer approach, I'm able to recognize this a lot sooner and do something about it. Another way to approach this if you don't like the cold impersonal "API" approach, is to convince yourself that you are playing the part of a character in an improv style play. That the people being "mean" to you aren't really mean, they are just acting. Of course the danger with this mindset is that you could end up inflicting emotional harm on someone else without intending or realizing it.
musage 8y ago
I worked in a call center too, inbound technical customer service for an ISP that sucked badly, and my experience was kind of the opposite. The callers were very friendly most of the time, and when they weren't, I didn't take it personally. What was soul crushing about it was the inept ISP, their broken processes, the moronic internal emails that were just marketing gibberish, the "incentives" and "KPI".. basically everything except the customers. Even when those were challenging, it was more like taming lions -- exhausting, but not useless, and leading to a good sleep. But all the times when a team leader or coach said yet another some inane bullshit thing and I had to keep a poker face or even nod approvingly, that got to me. With customers I could be much more honest and "normal".

derekp7 8y ago

Those who are successful at interacting with the public basically treat the interactions as if it was an API. A lot of APIs are incomplete, or poorly thought out, but you can still at least do your best with them. Same with interacting with difficult customers, or putting on a smile and being witty with small talk for most other customers. You end up developing a series of canned responses, and don't take anything personally (just like you don't take a "404 not found" personally, or "503 service unavailable").

save_ferris 8y ago
I understand the attempt to compare a successful salesperson 's thought process to an API, but it's essentially what this piece argues is wrong with our work culture. And man it makes me cringe. More specifically though, how can you compare a 404 response to a random stranger telling you what a failure you are at life that you're stuck responding to their complaint instead having an "improtant" job like they do? How does a normal person who's struggling to earn a living (call centers don't pay well usually) while having to respond to ruthless, horrible people, not be damaged in the long run by those interactions? They can't even be compared because computers don't communicate with emotion. That's like saying bullying could easily be solved if kids just talked more like APIs did. What?
- derekp7 8y ago
  You are probably right in that I most likely lost a big part of my soul while adopting this philosophy. But every since I've started treating non-personal interactions in the same way I would treat compiler errors, I've stopped having a strong urge to drink after work, and overall can focus on what is important to me outside of the 9-5. The only thing that really can get under my skin at work anymore is if a situation starts to threaten my job (i.e., backstabbing, gaslighting, setting up for failure, etc). But with this newer approach, I'm able to recognize this a lot sooner and do something about it. Another way to approach this if you don't like the cold impersonal "API" approach, is to convince yourself that you are playing the part of a character in an improv style play. That the people being "mean" to you aren't really mean, they are just acting. Of course the danger with this mindset is that you could end up inflicting emotional harm on someone else without intending or realizing it.

musage 8y ago

I worked in a call center too, inbound technical customer service for an ISP that sucked badly, and my experience was kind of the opposite. The callers were very friendly most of the time, and when they weren't, I didn't take it personally. What was soul crushing about it was the inept ISP, their broken processes, the moronic internal emails that were just marketing gibberish, the "incentives" and "KPI".. basically everything except the customers. Even when those were challenging, it was more like taming lions -- exhausting, but not useless, and leading to a good sleep. But all the times when a team leader or coach said yet another some inane bullshit thing and I had to keep a poker face or even nod approvingly, that got to me. With customers I could be much more honest and "normal".