House Rules: Working a customer service job can teach valuable lessons about not only the workplace but also life in general

My job has made me an expert at sizing 5-year-olds’ feet for navy-and-white saddle shoes. 

Find me from 3-5 p.m., three days a week, at a children’s clothing boutique  — The Little House — in the Prairie Village Shops, giving advice to grandparents on which monogram font to use. But since I started working, I’ve learned infinitely more than just how to help moms pick out coordinating clothes for family pictures.

Since applying for the retail position as a freshman, I’ve become more professional and poised through countless interactions with customers, while having gained invaluable experience doing everything from working the cash register to answering questions over the phone. 

Just a few shifts into my new job — after I had learned how to put tags on clothes and how the store was organized — I began to acquire the true knowledge that comes with customer service: professionalism and problem-solving. 

At first, I’d end up slouching in the 15-minute-customer-less periods but never even noticed until my boss reminded me to stand up straight. Over three years of chatting with moms and practicing having my shoulders back, my posture is better than a ballerina’s, even while standing in the lunch line at school.

Then there’s the dreaded part of retail work — angry customers. At first, when a customer was mad about how we didn’t have the right size in a dress, I’d apologize profusely. But after about three angry grandmas who were upset about the color of tights we offered, I’m quick to smile and reply with a “Let me see what I can do to fix that.” 

I’ve only been able to hone these people skills by asking my boss questions when I’m unsure — something that I avoided at all costs when I was  first starting out. As someone who dodges asking questions in English class or chokes down the wrong order at restaurants, I can’t Google where the handmade birthday crowns are stocked in the store with hundreds of products lining the shelves. I have to ask my manager. 

Having a job where nothing is set in stone and there’s no way to prepare for every issue that comes my way, has forced me to learn to ask questions when I don’t know something or double check a procedure or price when I feel like I could be wrong.

My previous fear of feeling like a burden if I ask too many questions has melted away with the help of a manager who is always there to clarify something and co-workers who have no issue assisting me. I no longer have to dread going in during seminar to get help on an assignment or staying after class to ask a teacher a question because I know that’s what they’re there for. 

While I have always prided myself on being able to interact with adults in a well-spoken and articulate way, the practice I’ve gotten with adults of all backgrounds and in all different types of situations has only enhanced these skills. I’ve talked to everyone from mothers to business owners, all while enhancing my conversational skills with every little chat. 

Three years later, I find myself more comfortable when talking to teachers and more importantly, holding conversations with people who have more authority than me. The interactive skills that come with customer service jobs are the base for a successful future. And as far as I’m concerned, skills like these aren’t something you can pick up in a junior-level English class. 

Inside The Little House, I pick up empty Starbucks drinks and clean out dressing rooms full of clothes. These tasks remind me to do simple things for my fellow customer service workers like neatly folding shirts I try on at other stores because I know how much easier that makes the job. I’ve become hyper-aware of how I act around other people in the customer service industry. 

I’m not saying to go rethink every time you’ve asked for your burger to be cooked longer at a restaurant or for an extension on an item that’s on hold in a store, simply recognizing when I can do something small to simplify the job of people in the customer service industry has helped me become more of a considerate person in general. 

Because of this, I urge everyone to work a job in customer service. The life-long lessons you take away from it are the true bonus that comes with your paycheck. If you feel like you already know everything that comes with working a job at an ice cream shop or your local Hen House without ever working a customer service job, I can almost guarantee you that you don’t. There will always be something to learn from a customer service job.