That Isn’t My Job

I actually have a 9 to 5 (cue Dolly). I’ve been at my company for over five years - and I really enjoy it.

It definitely took a while before I really found my groove. I technically don’t even have a degree in what I do - but it somehow works for how crazy my brain is. It lets me see patterns and complete spreadsheets and figure out ways to solve problems.

However, I find that there is a common problem that not only seems to affect me, but all people in service related industries.

One of my tasks is that I handle phones for my department. I field calls and solve problems, but I also transfer people to other departments. It is not customer service, but it often feels like it, especially when people refuse to let me transfer them to another department because they aren’t finished yelling at me about a mistake I didn’t make.

I’ve found that no matter how I answer the phone, people tend to yell at me. I can be chipper, I can be kind, and I can solve their problems. However, sometimes people decide to be rude to me even when the problem didn’t stem from anything I did. I don’t take orders, I don’t ship product, and I don’t create accounts. I’m also not in charge of the entire mail system all over the United States.

It doesn’t matter - I’m merely a person to yell at in the eyes of frustrated consumers.

I never deserve it, but how often do we?

It is literally like yelling at the guy that delivers your pizza - pointless and rude.

Do you honestly think the pizza guy deliberately got your order wrong, cooked it incorrectly, loaded it into his fifteen year old Camry, drove across town, and delivered it to your door just so he could feel your disappointment? Do people honestly think people screw up on purpose?

I once had a man tell me that I must not be depositing his check correctly as the bank bounced it back.

I had to ask him how I can deposit checks incorrectly, when we have a bank scanner that reads checks? I’m literally not entering in any information, just putting the check that he sent us into a machine.

He insisted I was wrong for over 20 minutes.

I once dated a guy whose mother sent her side of asparagus back and refused to pay for it because she didn’t like it.

I literally have never seen someone do that - and never have again. But I know it happens to servers every day.

When people yell at you about something that isn’t in your power to fix, or wasn’t your job to begin with.. I’ve discovered a new mantra that I like to say under my breath:

‘Sorry, I’m just Accounts Receivable.’

‘Sorry, I just bring the food to the table. I don’t cook it.’

‘Sorry, I’m just the Delivery Boy.’

Would it make people treat us any better if we were actually as ‘not my circus not my monkeys’ as this? Probably not, but it certainly feels good to tell people that it is above my pay grade.

I originally came up with this design idea when I was extremely frustrated at how I had been treated on the phone. A woman had yelled at me and called me stupid and threated to never place an order ever again.

I honestly couldn’t believe that she was yelling at a random person in the wrong department about something. The issue was petty and didn’t originate with me, but she did not care.

I found myself defeated, and unsure HOW our generation can tell people that it isn’t okay to yell at people who are simply doing their jobs.

I came up with this shirt.

I want to help you take something back - even if just for a short while.

Enjoy telling someone off today - even if it just something you wear to the mall and not something you actually speak out loud.

We all know that eventually kindness will win.

But in the meantime.. let’s all just be delivery boys when people are rude, even if just for a short while.

XOXO,

Windham