Covid-19 RATs and PCR tests calls

It kind of feels weird saying this, but I never thought I'd be contributing in a small way to contain the spread of covid-19, if it can be considered that. I am taking calls to place orders to send out one or more RAT(s) and one or more PCR test(s) or DTS test(s) to the relevant address.

I am fully aware it's not frontline work or advising any government or being part of any government decisions whose goal is trying to keep up with and contain covid.

However I am having an effect on a human and/or emotional level and possibly decreasing the workload on all frontline workers who have been going full tilt. It is strange to think what I say could have a real impact on a human life but I suppose in a way you get used to it; even though I just started. It brings covid to me on more of a realistic and tangible level when I'm talking to people and placing orders to send out tests to them.

So far none of the callers have sounded extremely concerned about their health and most if not all are living with others.

I don't know how long I will be receiving these calls but it is definitely a bit surreal and a shock to the system. I never really doubted covid was real, I actually know two people who have been infected with it and they're close to me. But the simple act of speech from someone who is infected is another level and this is the first time I have directly heard it. My close friends didn't speak to me, they messaged me. I feel comfortable saying I have never had covid unless I have without realizing so I have no personal experience (to draw on).

It feels a bit like an out-of-body experience but for me I'm not that surprised - I always seem to be connected to 'big' events or places or situations or I myself seem to impress: the Christchurch earthquake, I was in NZ for the Rugby World Cup 2011 and 2015, I was at Heathrow when they had tanks there (I think it was soon after 9/11), I saw Adele live, I've been on an A380, I was in Hong Kong and Viet Nam during SARS, I've been to the Auckland Lantern Festival (Auckland’s largest annual festival and New Zealand’s largest Chinese cultural festival), I've been on the TGV several times and the bullet train from Beijing to Shanghai, I have a connection to France and so the 2015 attacks and when Notre-Dame was on fire in 2019 it hit me, hard; among other 'big' events or places or situations or I myself am interesting.

I'm tired mentally too because you're 'waiting' for the call and when/if it does you spring into action. And my normal routine has been 'scuppered' and I think the word discombobulated, which Chris Hipkins used, applies here.

- A.M.

Your job(s); and customers

I don't know what to write about in this post. But given my context right this minute I think the subject of job or jobs may be suitable.

I am addressing you, reading this post. How many jobs have you had? This encompasses ones you don't consider 'jobs' and ones that you consider jobs. You don't necessarily have to have gotten paid. I leave the definition pretty open to you.

Why did you enjoy them? Why didn't you enjoy them? Why did you resign? If you were forced to leave, whether fired or persuaded, have you learnt from the experience? What hours did you do? What was the work environment like? The communication between you and your boss and upper management?

I have been lucky enough to have hours I enjoy, and I resigned of my own free will. I did as much as I wanted and got given more responsibilities because I could handle it. Many people would not enjoy my job, but I did and do. It is pretty monotonous, but that works for me. The mental gymnastics caused by the customers, however, was what kept me on my toes. There is no one way to handle a customer in any situation, even if it's the same one. There are too many variables when they contact you to have one way that will always work.

One thing I have learnt is I like a consistent flow of customer contact. Or enough to not get bored. Otherwise there is less to do, especially if you don't have daily tasks. There is also a thing of having too much responsibility, even though you get it done on time and enjoy it.

Another concept that seems to always exist in my years on the job is customers who want everything exactly the way they want it. The product must be in this colour at that price for example. It just so happens that out of all the colours, the one you want doesn't exist and you find the product too expensive. We tell you this. You do not accept this and ask why you don't create them in that colour at a cheaper price. Not only do we not have the answer because it is beyond our job description (we have nothing to do with decisions about price for example) , but we.

The only reason I think customers expect products to be to their exact liking and if not, they complain, hoping it will be created is choice, which is more and more of a thing. We get smartphones and can choose apps from the store, we can choose a background and lock screen, we can buy many phone covers. So some people expect they can customize or have many things they want and act like a spoilt brat if they can't. Then they get angry and leave bad feedback/ a bad review/ a bad rating.

Another type of customer is when they don't understand our advice because they don't have the knowledge, but instead of explaining this, they make it harder by not explaining it. For example, I will ask them what device they are using or what internet browser they are using - responses can be 'I don't know', 'why do you need to know?', 'why can't you just fix this for me?'. Then I have to find a polite way to solve the issue without bruising their ego because they are not 'technical'/'good with technology'. What these customers fail to realize is the faster they ask questions because of their lack of knowledge, the faster their issue can be solved.

Also, I am not saying you should know everything, but if you have a smartphone or access to the internet you should be able to say what internet browser you're using, navigate to the app store, know how to get to the phone settings. It's like you have to know the accelerate, clutch, brake and handbrake to drive a manual car.

Spoilt and ego-y customers can be the most difficult to deal with, especially if they're in the mindset and it gets back to your boss, and you have done nothing wrong. On the flip side it is always nice when your boss asks you about a particular contact and then laughs after they realize the customer was being difficult and you don't need to be talked to.

There are the nice customers who not only have a pleasant demeanour, but then thank you profusely for making their day. Sometimes it's just a matter of updating or restarting their device, but they are genuinely so happy.

To end, the really angry customers can be extremely entertaining, especially on the phone because it's more face to face than e-mail or livechat. They are so angry and you can't get a word in so you just have to wait for them to finish talking and let their anger out. Maybe some of the best ones end with 'Can you help?', but they have not given their name or e-mail address or any information we can search to look up their account.

Sometimes they end their anger with 'Are you there?' as I haven't said anything and remain silent because I know there's nothing I can do until they've expressed themselves. I generally answer along the lines of 'Yes, I'm here, I'm just listening to you'. Sometimes I'm just laughing inside my head.

- A.M.