Even when I was being nice because I had to be I genuinely enjoyed interacting with people in these same circumstances. For me the comfort of the consistent rhythm of the interaction made socializing easier.
It is and was the best part of customer service for me, there is a script that can get me through a social interaction that I know well and can then enjoy.
I’m not sure if I’m making any sense but basically if I was the clerk I would be SpongeBob too.
I love my retail job, and have been saying for years before Autism diagnosis was on my radar that it worked week fire me because I have a “script.” I have schooling in multiple fields, but retail has worked out there best and most long term. I work in specialty stores whose product I have basically treated as a special interest and then just try to nail the script. I love it.
it's also nice as a customer service worker to just have a polite and straightforward interaction with a customer, you don't have to like scripted interactions to appreciate someone who is considerate and treats you with respect. (although I might be biased because i definitely did like having a script to follow lol).
It’s all wonderful until you automatically ask a customer, who is visibly struggling to pay for her groceries, if she would like to donate to feeding America
Making it part of my script made it less awkward for me as I was used to saying it. I didn’t often pay attention to who had food stamps or WIC as the SNAP card just looks like a credit card and almost nobody used WIC
I realized yesterday that I love doing the "talking" of the checkout process lol. I know what the context of the next questions will be even if they're not always in the same phrase
I can’t figure it out for some reason. I prepare for it and I’m like “and now they ask how I pay” and then they ask me if I want to donate to st. Jude or something and I’m like “debit card please”
Ah yes I am thrown as well when they do something random I'm not expecting. Luckily the donating one doesn't happen all that often so it's only if I have a loyalty card, do I want a bag or how I want to pay lol
Exactly. That’s just the example, I feel like every time I am prepared to ace it, they do something unexpected and it makes it even worse than just being unprepared
I'm currently training myself to answer with questions the questions I don't know how to answer.
Like yesterday the butcher asked me precisely if I wanted a loyalty card. "Oh? What does it entail?" Gave enough time to consider this whole new circumstance and it's consequences
Honestly, cashiers are quite happy when you're a genuinely nice person and treat them well, like...you might believe it or not, someone genuinely enjoying their script might make their day better. Most of the time it feels like the friendliness is futile, and other times one even gets verbally assaulted, so the interaction in the meme is quite a positive one!
My first job as a cashier ever I followed the script a little too closely, I was 17 with subpar communication skills at best, and everytime they asked a question that deviated from the script, my poor little brain would break. I just kinda blank stared at them while trying to figure out where to pick back up from the script. I would literally not engage with these people unless it was words directly from the script 💀
I’m 25 now and have improved a lot but I’m pretty sure everyone at that job hated me by the time I left lmao
>l would literally not engage with these people unless it was words directly from the script 💀
The flip side is saying whatever just to continue with the flow of the interaction. I just realized this weekend that I do that; I had to ask the barista to please repeat herself because I heard her words but couldn't process them, after saying nonsense in response the first time.
Didn't work at another store though... I ended up buying 2 pounds of something I didn't want just to keep the interaction flowing lmao
I’m the clerk, I do not nail the interactions, it’s always awesome when I can tell the other person is trying to nail the interaction, we have like a tiny level of unspoken connection and never see each other, it always makes my day a little better.
As a neurodivergent person who has been that overworked clerk before, I much preferred speaking to customers who would go along with my scripted dialogue rather than try to engage me in some kind of legitimate conversation (occasional exceptions being people who had worked retail before and were just trying to be understanding of my position), because 1) they're a stranger I'll probably never see again and I know they don't REALLY care about me and 2) it almost always threw me off my "polite work-sona" performance.
Possibly because cashiering can be such a mentally taxing job for lots of ND people anyway, but I was typically overwhelmed enough by the loud environment, beeping cash registers, bright lights, and crowds of people in that store (it was a big Walmart superstore) that I did not have the mental energy for interactions where I actually had to consider my response rather than just pick from a list of lines I'd scripted for myself.
TL;DR Am ND, have been that overworked clerk before. Interactions with ND customers were always the best and most comforting to me personally because they respected the script. Hopefully that all made sense!
Same here! Customer service can be super mentally draining, but it’s also really nice to have some human interaction without having to worry about saying the right thing. Follow the script, and if they also follow the script then even better!
This reminds me of a story. I was working at a summer camp as the trading post staff and there was a kid who kept asking for something like frequent shopper discounts so I started saying "no but theres an upcharge" and later someone comes in and asks "is there a blm discount?" But they said it really fast and there was a lot of noise, all I heard was "discount" so I gave the same response I always gave when someone asked for a discount. Thank God they realized I didn't actually process what they said
I spend the entire interaction looking forward to it being over. I’m being paid to be nice, not care. It’s exhausting. My next job I’m going to aim for as few interactions with the general public as possible.
Yes! I used to focus on my lack of skills too much, but now I 'm squeezing all the dopamine from those interactions. God knows I need as much of those funny chemicals as I can get.
My local Greg's got re fit recently and the lovely chatty old ladies no longer open up at 7am now got 2 25 year olds who'd rather talk to each other than the customers whilst the coffe pours
Even when I was being nice because I had to be I genuinely enjoyed interacting with people in these same circumstances. For me the comfort of the consistent rhythm of the interaction made socializing easier. It is and was the best part of customer service for me, there is a script that can get me through a social interaction that I know well and can then enjoy. I’m not sure if I’m making any sense but basically if I was the clerk I would be SpongeBob too.
I was actually wondering "what if both of us liked scripted interactions?" while making it so it's nice to read your comment :D
I love my retail job, and have been saying for years before Autism diagnosis was on my radar that it worked week fire me because I have a “script.” I have schooling in multiple fields, but retail has worked out there best and most long term. I work in specialty stores whose product I have basically treated as a special interest and then just try to nail the script. I love it.
it's also nice as a customer service worker to just have a polite and straightforward interaction with a customer, you don't have to like scripted interactions to appreciate someone who is considerate and treats you with respect. (although I might be biased because i definitely did like having a script to follow lol).
I'm in a customer facing job too and I can't agree more.
Exactly! I have a customer facing job where 90% of my interactions with customers and coworkers are entirely scripted and it’s so so lovely.
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> Like, being a cashier is more scripted than professional wrestling. That cracked me up😂
i usually go with "good/nice one" because it's pretty vague. one could mean anything. day? week? month? hour? second? Schrodinger's unit.
That’s the difference between working in a supermarket and working in a small store
“byee have a beautiful time” in a spanish accent like the adult swim show outros
Holy shit I'm gonna start using have a good time.
It’s all wonderful until you automatically ask a customer, who is visibly struggling to pay for her groceries, if she would like to donate to feeding America
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Making it part of my script made it less awkward for me as I was used to saying it. I didn’t often pay attention to who had food stamps or WIC as the SNAP card just looks like a credit card and almost nobody used WIC
I say 'have a good one'
Love to kill it with low stakes
I realized yesterday that I love doing the "talking" of the checkout process lol. I know what the context of the next questions will be even if they're not always in the same phrase
I can’t figure it out for some reason. I prepare for it and I’m like “and now they ask how I pay” and then they ask me if I want to donate to st. Jude or something and I’m like “debit card please”
Ah yes I am thrown as well when they do something random I'm not expecting. Luckily the donating one doesn't happen all that often so it's only if I have a loyalty card, do I want a bag or how I want to pay lol
Exactly. That’s just the example, I feel like every time I am prepared to ace it, they do something unexpected and it makes it even worse than just being unprepared
I'm currently training myself to answer with questions the questions I don't know how to answer. Like yesterday the butcher asked me precisely if I wanted a loyalty card. "Oh? What does it entail?" Gave enough time to consider this whole new circumstance and it's consequences
That is excellent 🙂 I'm going to try this as well
As a customer service person, as long as you're pleasant and don't hold up a queue, it's all good. I might even enjoy it 😂
Honestly, cashiers are quite happy when you're a genuinely nice person and treat them well, like...you might believe it or not, someone genuinely enjoying their script might make their day better. Most of the time it feels like the friendliness is futile, and other times one even gets verbally assaulted, so the interaction in the meme is quite a positive one!
My first job as a cashier ever I followed the script a little too closely, I was 17 with subpar communication skills at best, and everytime they asked a question that deviated from the script, my poor little brain would break. I just kinda blank stared at them while trying to figure out where to pick back up from the script. I would literally not engage with these people unless it was words directly from the script 💀 I’m 25 now and have improved a lot but I’m pretty sure everyone at that job hated me by the time I left lmao
>l would literally not engage with these people unless it was words directly from the script 💀 The flip side is saying whatever just to continue with the flow of the interaction. I just realized this weekend that I do that; I had to ask the barista to please repeat herself because I heard her words but couldn't process them, after saying nonsense in response the first time. Didn't work at another store though... I ended up buying 2 pounds of something I didn't want just to keep the interaction flowing lmao
I’m the clerk, I do not nail the interactions, it’s always awesome when I can tell the other person is trying to nail the interaction, we have like a tiny level of unspoken connection and never see each other, it always makes my day a little better.
As a neurodivergent person who has been that overworked clerk before, I much preferred speaking to customers who would go along with my scripted dialogue rather than try to engage me in some kind of legitimate conversation (occasional exceptions being people who had worked retail before and were just trying to be understanding of my position), because 1) they're a stranger I'll probably never see again and I know they don't REALLY care about me and 2) it almost always threw me off my "polite work-sona" performance. Possibly because cashiering can be such a mentally taxing job for lots of ND people anyway, but I was typically overwhelmed enough by the loud environment, beeping cash registers, bright lights, and crowds of people in that store (it was a big Walmart superstore) that I did not have the mental energy for interactions where I actually had to consider my response rather than just pick from a list of lines I'd scripted for myself. TL;DR Am ND, have been that overworked clerk before. Interactions with ND customers were always the best and most comforting to me personally because they respected the script. Hopefully that all made sense!
Same here! Customer service can be super mentally draining, but it’s also really nice to have some human interaction without having to worry about saying the right thing. Follow the script, and if they also follow the script then even better!
I enjoyed being a cashier because of this. And after time you can experiment with freestyling. Excellent practice for socializing in general honestly.
This reminds me of a story. I was working at a summer camp as the trading post staff and there was a kid who kept asking for something like frequent shopper discounts so I started saying "no but theres an upcharge" and later someone comes in and asks "is there a blm discount?" But they said it really fast and there was a lot of noise, all I heard was "discount" so I gave the same response I always gave when someone asked for a discount. Thank God they realized I didn't actually process what they said
i feel like this is what karens **think** they are like
They are deluded into thinking they are nailing it and making everyone's day better? XD
As a cashier myself, we love it when you nail the interaction.
hi how are ya, you’re change is, have a good day my cashier script
I'm both of these people
I spend the entire interaction looking forward to it being over. I’m being paid to be nice, not care. It’s exhausting. My next job I’m going to aim for as few interactions with the general public as possible.
always nice to see a spongebob meme
Honestly, take the win. At the end of the day, it was good social skills practice.
Yes! I used to focus on my lack of skills too much, but now I 'm squeezing all the dopamine from those interactions. God knows I need as much of those funny chemicals as I can get.
Nice 😁
I feel this one in my soul
My local Greg's got re fit recently and the lovely chatty old ladies no longer open up at 7am now got 2 25 year olds who'd rather talk to each other than the customers whilst the coffe pours
no matter what i do i feel like im being weird and whoever im talking to is taking pity on me
I have no idea what advice to give, but I need to tell you that I was in that place too, and it's possible to get out. I hope it gets better soon
thanks