Random observations and stories, my journal

[Saint Nicholas]

So the job I work, 6 hours a day, 5 days a week is extremely boring. I'm a customer service officer with Melbourne's metropolitan railway operator, Metro. I stand like a goose on the station platform and assist customers with their day to day griefs and queries. Really, I stand and walk around for ~6hours quietly cursing my pathetic existence! No not really, it isn't so bad. It's a job that brings in money. I do happen so have a lot of free time on my hands however. Recently I've begun bringing a notebook and pen with me on the platform. I've written some short stories or observations you might call them to help pass the time and try to keep my mind occupied. I'd like to share them with you here, any constructive feedback would be appreciated. Here goes.

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Nothing Sinister

A blind man walks onto the platform. Wearing a dark blue broad brimmed hat and clutching his sensory stick. He takes a few tentative steps forward, clearly he is uncomfortable and awkward in amongst the crowd. He continues his uneasy shuffle along the platform, his steps stuttering ever so slightly. His milky white eyes cannot see the two people barring his path. Sensing a presence nearby, he holds the sensory stick out in front of him, like a weapon, preparing to ward off a reclusive foe. The stick connects with a leg and the unseeing man stops short. Immediately the blind man is filled with a sense of overwhelming dread. His breathing quickened and his muscles tensed up. His body entered the well known state of fight or flight. The blind man didn't know what to do at this point exactly, but he was prepared to do whatever was necessary, whatever that may be.

It was always a nerve-racking time when the blind man encountered someone with his sensory stick. It was quite impossible for him to determine whether he was facing friend or foe, at least not straight away. Being blind put him at a great disadvantage. People didn't take very kindly to being pushed past or shoved aside. They hated being accidentally hit with the stick most of all. Some of them actually got quite riled.

This was the way in which the blind man moved through the world. Like the mystical celestial bodies that made up the vast universe, the blind man haphazardly shuffled around. Not knowing exactly what lay in store for him. Guided by the bodies and presence of others, he was very much at the mercy of those who were lucky enough to see. Always stumbling, knocking people and generally hitting every obstruction. The worst part was there was never anyone around or willing to assist. The smallest most mundane tasks for the hardest thing. The daily routine for many was akin to the daily torture for the blind man.

Being blind, the man had a heightened sense of sense of smell, touch and taste. The latter of which would be no use to him here in this situation. However, the other two sense were already gathering important information and feeding it through to his brain. A blind man was able to ascertain a few critical points. There are two individuals blocking his way and they are both male. A faint smell of dried sweat was emanating off one, a strong smell of men's cologne was coming from the other. No doubt two friends who had been up to mischief together. The blind man had unknowingly stepped on one of the men's feet. A short low grunt of annoyance and subsequent laugh had informed the blind man he was indeed facing two men.

His mind was racing now, what could he do. A panic began to build up inside of him. Much to his dismay, he caught a whiff of alcohol in the air. That overpowering sense of dread grew stronger, fear began to creep into his veins, distracting him. Sweat was beading on his forehead now, his pulse was like a staccato beat, his legs became unsteady. The blind man knew what was going to happen next. The men would undoubtedly attempt to rob him. They would roughly push him to the ground and then beat him senseless until he freely gave them what they wanted or they took it from his unconscious body. It wasn't fair, the blind man had never harmed a soul in all his life. Born with his disability, he had never even seen a sunrise.

He steeled himself, if this was to be the end he wouldn't give up without a fight. All of a sudden, one of the men spoke. "Hey" he said. This was it. The blind man had no doubts in his mind now, the was the calm before the storm of fists and kicks, the precursor to a merciless attack. Prepared now to face the torment that awaited him, the blind man gripped his sensory stick tight. In a last ditch attempt the blind man slowly raised his stick, preparing to make a vast overhead swing. If he could strike first, maybe, just maybe he might have a chance.

"Are you OK?" came next. The stick froze in midair, the blind man's arm was locked in stasis. All at once, relief washed over him. Eradicating all fear and the overpowering sense of dread. He could almost cry. His body relaxed, his breathing slowly returned to normal, his heart stopped racing and resumed its usual beat. A wave of euphoria engulfed the blind man, he realised he wouldn't be beaten today, no, there was a kinder fate in store for him. He let the stick drop back down beside him.

"Do you need some help?" Unbelievable. The blind man could not speak. No one had ever offered to help before. Every time he had been stopped and accosted, he had been met with anger and intolerance. People were generally unsympathetic to his plight and just did not care. He quickly learnt people were cruel and didn't understand him, or what he had to go through each day. Many saw this blind man a burden on society, another tax on people's wallets that they had no choice but to pay. But these two men had clearly seen something else.

Totally bewildered and shocked to the core, the blind man could only shake his head in response to their inquiry. He had learnt long ago how to survive in the world without the gift of sight. No, he didn't need assistance, but the fact that someone had finally taken the time and care to ask him filled him with a sense of hope. After all, he was a poor simple blind man trying to make his way in the world. Every day is a new day and you can never tell what that day has in store for you. And so it was with a smile on his face, the blind man puffed out his chest, stood straight and confidently continued walking along the platform, his spirits as high as they had ever been. Eager to face today, tomorrow and the day after.

[Saint Nicholas]

Youth Generation

Schoolchildren. Like a hive of bees, their numbers seem limitless. Roaming around from place to place and being generally unruly. Their laughter can be heard from way off. Echoing and reverberating off the walls of the station. Their faces are illuminated by the glow of their mobile phones and ipods. Lit up like the Northern lights with expressions of ecstasy. They form small groups and like a plague, they spread themselves out to achieve maximum disturbance and disruption. They are loud, obnoxious at times and can be borderline disrespectful even. Despite their behaviour though, they seem content with life in general. Living like they are on top of the world. They act as if they are oblivious to everyone and everything around them.

These young teens live in a world of their own. Theirs is a world of technology, consisting mainly of social networking activities which take up most of their time. Facebook and Twitter are the weapons of choice for these young ones. When they're at school they talk endlessly and without pause, about this that and the other thing. When they get home they go online and continue their conversation online. They never seem to be able to escape from the Internet. It binds them, holds them together, keeps them coming back.

They govern themselves well enough though. They seem to be able to manage their own lives with little outside interference. They have the brains to gather the necessary information for getting from point A to B. They maintain their own social structure and hierarchy in the group, with their parents being at the very bottom of the food chain. They are a law unto themselves. Defying society's norms and expectations, distancing themselves and compartmentalising their minds so as not to waste valuable brain power. They are known as Generation Y, but more commonly known as Generation WHY or WHY do I have to do that? That is their mantra, their motto, the single most important code that they live by. The law that they all follow but none of them ever mention. Generation WHY.

They're all interconnected with each other, they have complex relationships and are constantly online and on the go. Nothing comes soon enough for them, the world is at their feet. They are the conquerors of convention, the masters of deception, the Don's of lies and deceit. They are extremely cunning and resourceful, do not underestimate them. Like an animal being hunted, they know how to survive, they have the skills and the knowledge and their not afraid to let you know that either. They expertly craft a lie, making it seem like the absolute truth when questioned. More often than not, they are engaged in some form of mischief, yet they always seem to find a way to wriggle out of it. Whether it be the promise to do chores, or the deduction of a modest amount of pocket money, these kinds will always find a way.

Schoolchildren however, can also be some of the most creative and imaginative souls. The mind of a child, especially one at school, is filled with many thoughts that are constantly jumping over each other and fighting for domination of the brain. They are a bag of conflicting emotions and ideas at times, basically a regular goldmine of information and opinion. The mind of a child is indicative of a certain innocence they posses. A way of thinking about the world that most of us have lost at some point in our lives. They view of the world is the least jaded and unprejudiced, they lack the life experience to make an informed judgement on many things. They open their hearts and their minds and take everything in. Good and bad. It is this objective and unbiased idea of the world that the older generation crave so much, to them, it is a mental paradise to be so young and largely ignorant to the crueler facets of life. Schoolchildren's minds are a white happy paradise. They truly don't understand just how lucky they are.

You'll remember that they are completely oblivious. They won't ever comprehend the lengths to which their parents go to keep them innocent and ignorant, in essence to insure their safety of mind and body. To protect them from a hard and unforgiving world. Parents go to great lengths to clothe and feed their young lings, they tuck them into bed at night, or at least they used to. They care for them when they are sick, they are there when the child manages to get itself into trouble. These kids will never understand just how much their parents love them on such a deep level. The financial hardship, the sacrifice of time and career, the tears of pain during labour and the overwhelming joy at the moment of birth. Schoolchildren, indeed any child is blind to it all. They cannot see what is clearly in front of them the whole time.

From the moment they are welcomed into the world; to the moment where they are committed to earth and remembered, their parents will watch over them, either in person or spirit, watching over them from the heavens. No, schoolchildren will never understand the menace that they can be. They won't have an inkling until they have children of their own. When that happens they will have wished they had behaved better when they were kids! They say that you have children that you deserve, the schoolchildren of today would do well to remember that.

[Saint Nicholas]

Service with an awkward grin

Working on a busy inter city station platform can be a tough job. Depending on the day, the Metropolitan train system can either ran pretty much to schedule, trains arriving on time and departing as normal, or it can be total chaos, with trains being canceled or heavily delayed. In my experience, when the network is having a bad day, it is usually a really bad day, we don't do things in halves I tell you.. if something is going to go wrong you can bet it is going to go VERY wrong and any issue won't be rectified easily! Another problem is that once one train is late or something of that nature, it has a domino affect on all the trains coming after. If one is late the next 3 or 4 will be, if one of those is late then the next 5 will be late.. it goes on and on until we have to cancel services or skip a few stations just to try to get back on time. This is all exacerbated during the peak time as well where things can get MUCH worse and platforms extremely crowded.

On days when the network isn't up to scratch, you can be met with some very angry and irate customers. Yelling and screaming, even going so far as to curse and utter profanity's to no one in particular. You can also cop a mouthful of abuse if you get a really angry person, which is never pleasant but unfortunately comes with the territory of the job. If someone is really upset, they will purposefully seek you out just to give you a piece of their mind. They will come to you and tell you in no uncertain terms (usually very loudly so other people will hear as well) that the railway is a joke and so is the way in which it is operated. They will cry havoc and claim poor service and that they shouldn't have to pay for it.

This is not the worst of it however. An angered customer will hold you personally responsible for every little problem that could possibly go wrong while leaving themselves and other customers blameless and clearly the victim. This of course is garbage. Probably 80% of the time a train is delayed due to a customer or the actions taken by one of them. Whether they hold the doors open preventing the train from leaving or even take a stroll on the tracks somewhere, holding up all the trains on the line. But none of this matters of course, in the customer's mind, we the Metro staff are the devil! Purge us of this evil!

Sure, being blamed for everything that goes wrong all the time can get tiresome and it may seem like the worst part of the job, it can actually be very rewarding if you play it right and have the right attitude. If you can manage to get a positive outcome or at least a neutral one then you have done your job today. This is what Customer Service is all about, dealing with customers complaints and trying your best to either resolve them or apologize and get a positive outcome or neutral outcome. We don't want negative outcomes or for customers to think badly of the company now do we? Getting a positive outcome is a great challenge at times, depending on the customer. Your honed bargaining skills will come in very handy at this point, you'll have to give ground but you'll also be able to take ground later on.

You need to attempt to reassure the customer and do your best to put them at ease. Once they have calmed down a bit and you get some conversation happening you will be surprised how much easier talking to them can be. Once people hare aired their concerns they usually are happy to wait for a response and it is your job to make it satisfactory for them. Otherwise they will turn on you and you'll end up with an infuriated customer when before they were only mildly pissed off.

Sometimes though, people can get very aggressive and even violent. Defusing a potentially dangerous situation is an invaluable skill to have, one that will be of great use to you if you ever need it. You'll need to call on your powers of persuasion to keep the customer calm and avoid getting a fist in your face you didn't want or need. Of greatest importance though is the ability to listen and relate to the customer's problem. Nothing angers a customer more than when they feel they are being ignored and not taken seriously, when their concerns fall on deaf ears.

The good Customer Service Officer will take in all the information and listen to their grievances, no matter how small. Let them do most of the talking, let them tell you the situation and exactly what is going on. Don't try to override them or jump in early, let them speak, be patient and listen and then you can respond. The one golden rule to remember during all this though is to not take anything they say personally. The only reason they are complaining is because you are physically there. If you weren't most wouldn't even bother with it and just go about their business as usual.

Steel your heart and sharpen your wits, you'll need both to deal with disgruntled customers in a friendly and professional way. Customers come and go each day, they usually don't hang around the station to chat. They're off home to their families to prepare the evening meal and sit down to watch the news, the last place they want to be is stuck at the station unsure of how and when they will get home. Think about that when you are there with them, it will help you understand where they are coming from and make it easier for everyone in the long run. Take each day as it comes and always come to work with a positive attitude and smile. I can almost guarantee you'll go home the same way if you do.