Chapter 91: Sorting Things Out

I blame the fact that I attract weirdos on my high school employment; if they hadn’t done such a good job in training me in the ways of customer service I wouldn’t be skilled in the art of ingratiating people. When I speak to people, correction, when I speak to people I don’t know well I have the nasty habit of agreeing with them, and making them feel comfortable. So even if I do not think a particular behavior is acceptable, or a certain statement is funny, I go along with it and make them feel okay for doing such a stupid thing. But you see, this works with customers, you see them for 5 to 10 minutes max, even if they come in all the time and are “regulars” it’s not like you are going on a date with them, or hanging out with them on the weekends. People you meet outside of work need a different type of behavior from you. I can’t be customer service with people who are not customers. People who want to date you or want to be your friend need to have the real you, not the customer service you. The only problem is, I have trouble figuring out who the real me is…customer service mode is so engrained in me that I have trouble shaking it off. I’m trying to think of how I acted around my close friends when I first met them, did I suck up to them, try to make them feel less stupid if they did something idiotic? The other night when I had an hour and half conversation with Renaissance Man I was in customer service mode, maybe that’s why when I told people how long the conversation was they got excited and saw it as a good sign and I felt it physically and emotionally draining.