The service industry can be seemingly mundane and futile. I have met many people who say that they would rather have a “real job” that will benefit their futures instead of working in customer service for summer jobs. Ironically, these are the exact people who should be working at customer service jobs. As someone who has worked in various restaurants for over six years, and still does, here are a few vital reasons why everyone, yes I mean everyone, should work in customer service at some point in their lives.
PERSPECTIVE
Knowing how to be a decent person really does often mean you have to walk a mile in one’s shoes. In some cases, “walking a mile” is being yelled at by a “Karen” while you’re simply trying to pack takeout bags of Chinese food at 15 years old. Yes that actually happened.
Workers in the service industry, whether it is a restaurant or retail, get a ridiculous amount of hate. Many people feel the need to take their anger out on whoever is closest to them, which often ends up being the poor workers at your nearest Chipotle.
Until you have been the one being yelled at, even if you are a good person, it sometimes can be hard to remember to treat others as you would want to be treated. Not only is it a good reminder to be nice to strangers, but it really is telling of a person’s character in how they treat someone in customer service. Don’t be a red flag.
MATURITY
Speaking of “Karens”- working in customer service can teach you valuable skills about acting mature and professionally in tense situations at a young age, which can be carried into any industry you work in the future. An important distinction is being a professional versus biting your tongue. This may come as a shock, but the customer is not always right!
Learning how to handle situations in a mature and professional manner, even when the customer is convinced that you are wrong, is often more important than biting your tongue. Customer service can give you a new type of rage, and learning how to channel it and handle raging “Karens” in a professional way is so important and a very valuable skill.
Along with acting professionally, learning how to simply carry a conversation with adults and hold yourself in a mature manner is something that many people in their 20s still cannot do. Learning from a young age how to carry yourself is extremely valuable and can set you apart from others in situations such as interviews.
SKILLS
Learning various skills while also learning what skills you naturally possess is extremely valuable for your future. Knowing your personal skills can help you to determine the field that you may want to go into, and also knowing what you are not so good at is equally valuable to yourself and future employers. It’s true that being able to do math and write are good skills, but learning things like multitasking, working under pressure and time management are equally important to your future.
MOTIVATION
If you gain absolutely nothing else from working in customer service, and it’s the worst job you’ve ever had, use this as motivation to not do that in the future. If you are feeling very unmotivated in school, use the motivation of not working in customer service forever to keep you working towards that college degree. It may seem silly, but I do it every time I’m back in my hometown working in a local restaurant. If I ever am not looking forward to the upcoming schoolwork and semester, my parents say, “Well, you could just stay here and work at the restaurant forever,” to which I instantly am looking forward to going back to school! It works I swear.
On the other hand, if you find that you really enjoy working in customer service- there you go, future career identified. It’s a win-win!
LEARNING THE VALUE OF MONEY
There is nothing like earning your own money, and spending it too! I learned the true value of money once I was spending money that I spent hours serving rich tourists to make.
There are so many other unique things that make working in the service industry a valuable job. It’s great money, a good side hustle and you really do learn a lot and can have fun doing it! Hating annoying customers is truly a bonding experience between co-workers. It’s never too late to learn these skills. If you haven’t yet worked in this industry, I truly can’t recommend it enough.