I feel like I live my life under a microscope.
Why? The major part of it is work.
Someone at corporate came up with the brilliant idea of these nametags in which we have to place sayings about ourselves. Here are the rules: 1. It cannot be offensive. 2. No political topics. 3. Nothing sexual or flirtatious. 4. Nothing religious. 5. Nothing that goes against the corporation or the general mainstream.
In other words, anything about me cannot be said. My current sayings are: I write poetry. I like medieval literature. I want to study in Ireland for a year. I like cats. I am studying history. I like to swim.
I can't put the university I attend on there because it may offend someone from our rival school. I can't put any of my favorite bands unless they are Top 40, because my music makes a)a religious statement, b) a political statement, or c) is generally offensive.
These normally wouldn't make me too upset, except I sort of feel like the company is whoring me out to get money. One customer said to me, "They're trying to humanize their workers." This, I guarantee you, is not working.
What interests me about all of this is that it says to keep it as indepth or as shallow as you feel comfortable. When it comes to my customers, I'm a very private person. I don't want to discuss my personal life more than necessary. If I feel a bond with a customer, I may. If not, I'd rather decline. To me, it seems that all a customer needs to know about me is I work there.
Yet every day this privacy, the line between professional and personal gets crossed. Not necessarily by me, but by others. Customers, I swear, dig for information. They want to know where I live. What kind of car do I drive? Am I single? What kind of music do I listen to? Why is my cat named Hoochie? what color is my hair naturally? Where do I shop? What bars do I go to? What kind of pop do I drink? What did I have for lunch? Why haven't I quit smoking?
The worst part is that my boss and coworkers prostitute my life for cash. We had a customer come in one day to open an account. In the midst of the conversation, my boss discovered he had just finished getting divorced and the check was his half of the equity of his home. Instead of using this information to make an account match up, she mentions that I'm divorced. And makes me tell the whole story. "I'd rather not talk about it" is an unacceptable answer. Every time we have a customer in the midst/considering/finalizing their divorce, someone brings me up. Any time someone asks if any of us are single, I get volunteered. Every day someone is trying to fix me up with someone they know. It's just unbearable that I'm single.
And since everyone likes to talk about my singlehood to anyone who will listen, I get the brunt of this. The other day I turned a lady away for cashing a check, and she responded with, "you uncompassionate bitch, I know now why your husband left you." My last customer of the day told me that it was ok for him to take his time because I wouldn't have any plans on a Friday night anyways. After all, who would date me?
I guess what I'm trying to say here is, whoever thought of these nametags was out of theiir mind. All a customer needs to know is MY NAME and that I am currently an employeee. Furthermore, I don't think anyone else would appreciate it if I bared the troubles of their marriage or current relationship to a customer. I don't think my boss would appreciate me sharing with customers that her daughter has been arrested 2 times for drunk driving in a 2 month period. There are just some things you do not share. The fact that I am divorced is one of them for me. Why? Because I'm 23 years old. Because I don't like sharing that I got left for another woman. Because I don't like to relate my story every time someone comes in with theirs. I don't feel the need to open my wounds and mix my blood with others. Whenever someone brings up my life history, I relive it for the rest of the day. I go home and fucking cry, watch sad movies, eat ice cream, and write bad poetry.
And that's none of my customer's, or my boss's business. No one needs to know who I've slept with, who I AM sleeping with, who I'm dating, who I'm NOT dating, what problems I have in any relationship whatsoever. They don't need to know that I like old school hip hop. They don't need to know that I enjoy chick flicks. They don't need to know that my dreams, hopes, aspirations are, because they don't involve their banking.
This is business, not personal. I love how that line gets used whenever it suits them.
Sorry for an extremely long rant about nametags.
Why? The major part of it is work.
Someone at corporate came up with the brilliant idea of these nametags in which we have to place sayings about ourselves. Here are the rules: 1. It cannot be offensive. 2. No political topics. 3. Nothing sexual or flirtatious. 4. Nothing religious. 5. Nothing that goes against the corporation or the general mainstream.
In other words, anything about me cannot be said. My current sayings are: I write poetry. I like medieval literature. I want to study in Ireland for a year. I like cats. I am studying history. I like to swim.
I can't put the university I attend on there because it may offend someone from our rival school. I can't put any of my favorite bands unless they are Top 40, because my music makes a)a religious statement, b) a political statement, or c) is generally offensive.
These normally wouldn't make me too upset, except I sort of feel like the company is whoring me out to get money. One customer said to me, "They're trying to humanize their workers." This, I guarantee you, is not working.
What interests me about all of this is that it says to keep it as indepth or as shallow as you feel comfortable. When it comes to my customers, I'm a very private person. I don't want to discuss my personal life more than necessary. If I feel a bond with a customer, I may. If not, I'd rather decline. To me, it seems that all a customer needs to know about me is I work there.
Yet every day this privacy, the line between professional and personal gets crossed. Not necessarily by me, but by others. Customers, I swear, dig for information. They want to know where I live. What kind of car do I drive? Am I single? What kind of music do I listen to? Why is my cat named Hoochie? what color is my hair naturally? Where do I shop? What bars do I go to? What kind of pop do I drink? What did I have for lunch? Why haven't I quit smoking?
The worst part is that my boss and coworkers prostitute my life for cash. We had a customer come in one day to open an account. In the midst of the conversation, my boss discovered he had just finished getting divorced and the check was his half of the equity of his home. Instead of using this information to make an account match up, she mentions that I'm divorced. And makes me tell the whole story. "I'd rather not talk about it" is an unacceptable answer. Every time we have a customer in the midst/considering/finalizing their divorce, someone brings me up. Any time someone asks if any of us are single, I get volunteered. Every day someone is trying to fix me up with someone they know. It's just unbearable that I'm single.
And since everyone likes to talk about my singlehood to anyone who will listen, I get the brunt of this. The other day I turned a lady away for cashing a check, and she responded with, "you uncompassionate bitch, I know now why your husband left you." My last customer of the day told me that it was ok for him to take his time because I wouldn't have any plans on a Friday night anyways. After all, who would date me?
I guess what I'm trying to say here is, whoever thought of these nametags was out of theiir mind. All a customer needs to know is MY NAME and that I am currently an employeee. Furthermore, I don't think anyone else would appreciate it if I bared the troubles of their marriage or current relationship to a customer. I don't think my boss would appreciate me sharing with customers that her daughter has been arrested 2 times for drunk driving in a 2 month period. There are just some things you do not share. The fact that I am divorced is one of them for me. Why? Because I'm 23 years old. Because I don't like sharing that I got left for another woman. Because I don't like to relate my story every time someone comes in with theirs. I don't feel the need to open my wounds and mix my blood with others. Whenever someone brings up my life history, I relive it for the rest of the day. I go home and fucking cry, watch sad movies, eat ice cream, and write bad poetry.
And that's none of my customer's, or my boss's business. No one needs to know who I've slept with, who I AM sleeping with, who I'm dating, who I'm NOT dating, what problems I have in any relationship whatsoever. They don't need to know that I like old school hip hop. They don't need to know that I enjoy chick flicks. They don't need to know that my dreams, hopes, aspirations are, because they don't involve their banking.
This is business, not personal. I love how that line gets used whenever it suits them.
Sorry for an extremely long rant about nametags.
VIEW 11 of 11 COMMENTS
i'd like to keep going on my little rant...
but i wont.
I was almost at your house this morning. but circumstances got in the way.
yes, we should be friends