Customer service is not a forever job, but I admittedly can get very passionate about it. I can directly affect a person’s day just by treating them well. It makes me feel somewhat powerful to know that I can get people to respond positively to me just by my body language and my tone of voice. It’s instant karma…when I give off positive energy, I get positive energy back. 

It is by no means as glamorous or high-profile as the work I used to do. My face will never be splashed on the cover of a magazine for this, and nobody will ask for my autograph. Most people who walk through the store will never know my name or remember my face. However, they will remember that I treated them nicely.

Ironically, I find that customer service and show biz are quite similar. Whatever it is that made me succeed as a TV host is the same thing that makes me seem to do well as a server, and that’s my ability to make quick interactions feel personal. As a veejay on a music channel who had to interview all sorts of people on camera every week, I often had only ten minutes to get complete strangers to warm up on camera… not exactly the most relaxing environment. But I loved the challenge of finding that button to push that would make people loosen up and be their best selves, and have them walk away feeling like they just made a worthwhile connection with a human being. 

As a customer server, I have about 3 minutes to take a customer’s order, take their money, and give them their change. It’s a business transaction, cold, formal, and systematic, and I can leave it at that. Or I can turn those 3 minutes it into a not-so-ordinary interaction that people may or may not remember. Whatever, it feels good when they walk away smiling. I think sometimes, people just want some warmth.

It can get exhausting, and monotonous, and there are days when it’s a bit harder to be positive. But every now and then, I’m on the receiving end of the most sincere acts of kindness from the people I serve, and that’s kind of what keeps me going. I Iove how a day at work is always peppered with interesting little interactions with people that add spice to life.