"Everything Old Is New Again"At the end of this October, I will have been at the store for a year. Just one year. Or, you might say as I do: a Whole Year???!!! That's amazing. That's reassuring. I am watching new people come in. But they're not coming in just as I did. They are coming in under a different set of trainings; trainings based on sales and situations. In my training, our trainer did a lot of talking about her favorite plates, or family gatherings. We learned software but spent only 4 hours on the phones before hitting the floor. We lost 5 people the second day on the floor because they either freaked out about how unprepared we were, and felt, or another job came through. It was quick and brutal, the winnowing out of our class. Hard for the store too. Costly.
I've had a small part to play in the preparation of these people, thanks to my previous boss who invited me into a fact-gathering session with the people who would design the trainings for us. I'm glad to have had something to pass forward. My work is different now. Now I go out onto the floor and listen to people, talk to people, hold focus groups and gather information that I then pass on to the Managers who now surround me on the other side of the floor. I also research and try to ferret out which parts of the business, and which individuals within those parts, are struggling, and most particularly why, so that we can come up with ways to help them get better. We will offer them trainings, or coachings, or we will approach those higher than management and suggest - I will suggest - changes in policies. And then all of us will see what happens. We will watch the unfolding. (That's the tricky part for me, the allowing. Pushing, instead, feels like I'm accomplishing something. Wrong. When I'm pushing like mad, I'm feeling powerful over situations, which in truth I am not. So, as SNL's Emily Litella would say, "Never mind!") Time, at the store, isn't regular time. I have been there eight months, and it feels like I am well into my second year already. This is not a complaint but a recognition of how much information and learning and interaction and personal growth and professional growth has been accomplished in such a very short period of time. I find myself amazed that I, such an emotional and outspoken wild child, still have a job, and that it is a job with some actual weight to it. Last year, I was a top salesperson. This year I am someone who can decide who to speak to and pull groups together and uncover problems. It's so tricky to stay in your lane and to shine at the same time. But I'm learning. And I miss the stories. I miss the people I spoke to telling me incredible things and having incredible accents and emotions and needs. I started listening to other peoples' calls last week. Turns out, most phone Ambassadors don't realize what a treasure trove of stories lies at their feet. If they only knew, how much more fun they would have! For the first time in my life, this game is okay with me. And it's because I am allowed to use my passion for helping people and for inciting change. I really shouldn't be surprised that I stumble from time to time. Just like being on the phones, it's all about learning how to talk to people, and how to sell something. Only this time, it's my ideas, and my energy, and my drive. A co-worker who sits at my 4-person pod looked at me today and asked, "How long have you been here?" She was amazed when I said it has been about 3 months. I took that as a compliment. I took that as, "Wow, you fit in so well, haven't you always been here?" Sales Ambassador, and now Learning Analytics Administrator. Not bad! If I can just keep the Wild Child stuff more appropriate than not, and the toe-stepping to a minimum, I'll be fine. ©2019 Lori Kirstein
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AuthorWorking in Sales at a Call Center for one of the biggest stores in the country should come with hazard pay. Archives
December 2019
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