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So I've mentioned Sourpuss in my journal before. She's the mentor I was given when I was thrown out to the floor about five months ago. Before I met her, my trainer had said to be careful with what she said, thinking that Sourpuss might suggest shortcuts and such, where as my trainer gave me the long way of doing things.
She also worked on hinting that there's a bit of a toxic personality there, and with that assessment I have to agree. I've noticed how she is rather opinionated and crabby about things like food days. I know why for our team, she's been put in charge of them, because if anyone else did it there would be a huge, well, not fight, but a little, continuous stream of words that would tell everyone just what was wrong with the whole thing. I noticed it isn't just limited to our team, but she got onto another team for what they brought and how they were keeping the food fresh - which they weren't because they were already finished. Still, wasted food is wrong in her book, so the freezer should be filled with food no one will ever tough again.
Personally I worked on keeping out of her way, and keeping my nose clean. It wasn't really hard. I had a good trainer, and I knew most of what I needed to know when I hit the floor. In the moments that I did need her help - it's usually when my materials failed me, or it was a once in a blue moon situation - I cringed having to have her turn around and look at the item I was working on. She would generally take her time, wasting both of our day as she analyzed it, since surely what I said couldn't be right.
We sit next to each other in one cubicle that has two desks. She faces Southeast, while I look at my computer screen to the Southwest. She takes up her desk with lots of papers and napkins and junk, where my desk is currently rather austere, with a couple of toys and a few training manuals.
One of the big problems is that I can hear her all day. I'll sit there and she's often arguing with someone on the phone. Sometimes it's about work, and she's yelling at some other customer service person bout their way off doing business, or how hard it was to get in touch with them. Other times she's talking to the school about her children which is not giving me a great impression of her family.
Now mind you, I'm not trying to listen, but when she's a loud talker, and something gets her to be even louder - I have people on the other side of my phone ask what's going on. Today not only was she yelling at a teacher about her girl being moved to a more difficult class, but later she was yelling at someone because it took too many buttons to get through their phone menu. Of course I had to suppress a chuckle when I could tell the teacher, who's been chewed out about not giving the girl enough attention, told Sourpuss that she should have come to parent's night that she said she didn't have time for last week.
The interesting thing to me is that it doesn't take much to be nice on the phone to the people we have to call in the name of business. Yes, the phone menus that financial firms have drive you absolutely crazy, but when you get them on the phone, it doesn't help anyone to yell at them about something that they can't control. When she yells at them, the next time that someone from our firm calls, we're already starting at a low point.
Don't mess with customer service people - especially when you're in the same field as they are.
So naturally, I try to avoid talking to her, just not to be taken to depressing town, she's worked here for 12 years, and doesn't seem to understand why she's never made it further than she has. For me, I know exactly why, without even having to say that she seems to be doing pretty much everything but work during her day. Of course, my not talking has labeled me as being quiet, but really, it's just talking judiciously with my co-workers right now.
There's nothing I can learn from her.
She also worked on hinting that there's a bit of a toxic personality there, and with that assessment I have to agree. I've noticed how she is rather opinionated and crabby about things like food days. I know why for our team, she's been put in charge of them, because if anyone else did it there would be a huge, well, not fight, but a little, continuous stream of words that would tell everyone just what was wrong with the whole thing. I noticed it isn't just limited to our team, but she got onto another team for what they brought and how they were keeping the food fresh - which they weren't because they were already finished. Still, wasted food is wrong in her book, so the freezer should be filled with food no one will ever tough again.
Personally I worked on keeping out of her way, and keeping my nose clean. It wasn't really hard. I had a good trainer, and I knew most of what I needed to know when I hit the floor. In the moments that I did need her help - it's usually when my materials failed me, or it was a once in a blue moon situation - I cringed having to have her turn around and look at the item I was working on. She would generally take her time, wasting both of our day as she analyzed it, since surely what I said couldn't be right.
We sit next to each other in one cubicle that has two desks. She faces Southeast, while I look at my computer screen to the Southwest. She takes up her desk with lots of papers and napkins and junk, where my desk is currently rather austere, with a couple of toys and a few training manuals.
One of the big problems is that I can hear her all day. I'll sit there and she's often arguing with someone on the phone. Sometimes it's about work, and she's yelling at some other customer service person bout their way off doing business, or how hard it was to get in touch with them. Other times she's talking to the school about her children which is not giving me a great impression of her family.
Now mind you, I'm not trying to listen, but when she's a loud talker, and something gets her to be even louder - I have people on the other side of my phone ask what's going on. Today not only was she yelling at a teacher about her girl being moved to a more difficult class, but later she was yelling at someone because it took too many buttons to get through their phone menu. Of course I had to suppress a chuckle when I could tell the teacher, who's been chewed out about not giving the girl enough attention, told Sourpuss that she should have come to parent's night that she said she didn't have time for last week.
The interesting thing to me is that it doesn't take much to be nice on the phone to the people we have to call in the name of business. Yes, the phone menus that financial firms have drive you absolutely crazy, but when you get them on the phone, it doesn't help anyone to yell at them about something that they can't control. When she yells at them, the next time that someone from our firm calls, we're already starting at a low point.
Don't mess with customer service people - especially when you're in the same field as they are.
So naturally, I try to avoid talking to her, just not to be taken to depressing town, she's worked here for 12 years, and doesn't seem to understand why she's never made it further than she has. For me, I know exactly why, without even having to say that she seems to be doing pretty much everything but work during her day. Of course, my not talking has labeled me as being quiet, but really, it's just talking judiciously with my co-workers right now.
There's nothing I can learn from her.
