Whose life would you like to make easier?

November 13, 2014 10:16 AM

A friend and I have been discussing creating a site wherein we interview people from various professions about how customers/clients can make their job easier, make their day a bit better, et cetera. We're in the process of seeking out folks with various jobs and we could use some advice about what kind of people we ought to seek out.

Current ideas are people who work as things like: hotel maid, taxi driver, barista, flight attendant, police officer, accountant, barber, bartender. We're picturing a site with a list of occupations and corresponding pages for each. Like, modern-day etiquette for really specific situations.

My question is: what other kinds of jobs should we be thinking about? Do you have an idea of a person you've interacted with where you weren't sure you were being easy to deal with or not?

posted by lauranesson to Human Relations (32 answers total)

For many years I worked as a bicycle courier, and there was this real double peak phenomenon where it was really annoying to deliver to very small companies because there was often no one at the front desk and it was really annoying to deliver to very big companies because you had to ring for entry at a loading dock and then go to some specific courier receiving desk in the 12th sub-basement. Medium sized companies were nice though because there was always a receptionist who was happy to sign and often had a bowl of chocolates on her desk.

Now, this isn't something that any old person can make better, but if you are an office manager, there are definite ways you can make life easier for the person bringing you important correspondence.
posted by 256 at 10:21 AM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Nurses?
Fire fighters?
Janitors?
posted by schroedingersgirl at 10:24 AM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

People who work at the post office would be a good one. I know postal workers get a bad rap but it's no wonder, considering the appalling behavior I have seen from fellow customers when I'm in there. Refusing to put cell phone away, being unprepared with correct documentation, et cetera.
posted by something something at 10:27 AM on November 13, 2014 [5 favorites]

Anyone who works on any kind of customer service desk in any kind of environment where there are customers. Doubly so for anyone who deals with customer service via the phone.
posted by Solomon at 10:29 AM on November 13, 2014

I feel like this is something that would be useful for almost every occupation. How many questions are there here about how to best communicate with a HR director, or a doctor, or a teacher, or to express displeasure with something, ask for assistance, or...?

Having a site with interviews from people in various client-facing positions would be sort of awesome, I think. The things you mentioned are good starting points, because they're very common scenarios, but you could also consider things like customer service reps, credit card companies (or the representatives thereof), agents, landlords, emergency medical responders, or just about anyone who works with people, because as MetaFilter has demonstrated time and time again, the collective we of the internet can get worked up and anxious about literally any interaction, especially when there's an imbalance of social power and/or when you have to ask someone to do something for you.
posted by MeghanC at 10:30 AM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Also: TSA Agent.
posted by something something at 10:32 AM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Some kind of call center or tech support/1-800 number staff.
posted by pantarei70 at 10:52 AM on November 13, 2014

Pizza delivery people depend on tips to make a living. Many people don't know this and think it's okay to just give them 50 cents or something rather than a few dollars.
posted by alms at 10:53 AM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Local Government Workers
posted by Middlemarch at 10:54 AM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

Landlords
posted by cmoj at 11:10 AM on November 13, 2014

Animal shelter workers (both admissions and adoptions, which are actually quite different from each other).
posted by alex1965 at 11:21 AM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Bank tellers. Veterinarians. Busboys. Garbage collectors. Meter readers. Administrative assistants.
posted by DrGail at 11:25 AM on November 13, 2014

Restaurant servers. Retail footsoldiers. Public librarians.
posted by scratch at 11:34 AM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Cabdrivers.
posted by scratch at 11:35 AM on November 13, 2014

Strippers/dancers
Doctors/nurses/medical office personnel
Hairdressers/shampooers

I think an interesting bent would be the (in)appropriateness of hitting on people at their service jobs/interpreting their service-friendliness as flirting.
posted by kapers at 11:43 AM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

Telemarketers (by which I mean the people on the phones, not the big anonymous corporations behind them)

Survey interviewers

Census bureau interviewers

Dry cleaning professionals (especially the people at the counter -- what can I do to help them get my clothes back to me?)

Caterers
posted by OrangeDisk at 11:45 AM on November 13, 2014 [1 favorite]

Grocery Store Cashier, Fast Food Cashier, Gas Station Cashier

Even thought they are all cashier's I *bet* there would be some interesting differentiations.

Oh, and BTW this is a great idea.
posted by dgeiser13 at 12:00 PM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

Band members
posted by kapers at 12:01 PM on November 13, 2014

The people who deal with physical, non-monetary, donations - either at big charity centres (like Goodwill or Value Village or Savers or whatever your local equivalent is) or at smaller non-profits (like where I work).
posted by VioletU at 12:09 PM on November 13, 2014

Poker/Blackjack dealers.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:11 PM on November 13, 2014

Wedding DJs
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:12 PM on November 13, 2014

Local events blogs editors. (I'm just naming jobs I've had but I think that fits).
posted by Potomac Avenue at 12:14 PM on November 13, 2014

Seconding telemarketers, and particularly people who call to request money for political candidates. (What is the easiest way to be told that someone isn't going to give you money? Do you find it more unpleasant to be interrupted, or to receive a negative response after you perform your long introductory spiel?)
posted by feral_goldfish at 12:16 PM on November 13, 2014

I think an interesting bent would be the (in)appropriateness of hitting on people at their service jobs/interpreting their service-friendliness as flirting.

Also: interpreting service-friendliness as friendliness.
posted by feral_goldfish at 12:21 PM on November 13, 2014 [2 favorites]

Sex workers. Panhandlers. Administrative assistants.

Archivists. Most school children are taught how to behave in libraries and what to expect, but the average person has no idea what to do in an archives.
posted by wrabbit at 12:33 PM on November 13, 2014

Doctors, for sure. We have it ingrained into us that we are here to serve the patient, no matter what their agenda, but there are certain behaviors I see on a daily basis where the "customer" is shooting them self in the foot.

note: if you go to the doctor with a written list of more than say, 2 things on it, you are going to leave with none of your problems dealt with.
posted by Slarty Bartfast at 12:35 PM on November 13, 2014

Attorneys. No one seems to think that they need to be told the whole truth, without editing.
posted by mchorn at 12:56 PM on November 13, 2014

Movers.
posted by joan cusack the second at 12:59 PM on November 13, 2014

Any wedding vendors now that I think about it. How do I invest money in this site?
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:14 PM on November 13, 2014

Or one for pastors/priests in general, specifically about first time visitors, with one representative of each faith. I think I know a funeral director you could ask too.

Seriously this site would be super interesting.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:19 PM on November 13, 2014

This sounds like a great idea! I think it would be even more useful if, when possible, you could interview more than one person in each position and publish multiple responses. Sometimes lists or tips like these seem more like personal pet peeves rather than industry-wide etiquette, and having multiple responders helps alleviate that.

I think there are things therapy clients can do, both logistically (payments, cancellations) and personally (don't pretend to be happier than you actually are), to make therapy more successful, though that's not really about making the therapist's life easier. If you do include similar service professionals (which I do think would be nice), maybe focus more on "How to have the most successful interaction with..." phrasing.
posted by jaguar at 1:44 PM on November 13, 2014

nannies and baby sitters. Man there are a lot of etiquette/social norms there.
posted by anitanita at 12:18 AM on November 14, 2014