Temptations (Revisited)
I recently decided to get back into temping and in the last three weeks I have worked at about 8 different places, no joke. One of my jobs sent me out to the nearest Office Depot for a tape dispenser and I realized, while browsing the aisles, that I know how to operate and transfer calls on every phone Office Depot offers for offices. Every one. Working at a different reception desk three times a week has made me aware of a few tendencies I've recently developed.
1. The innate, reflex reaction I have acquired to the sound of any ringing phone (aside from a cell). Dining in a busy restaurant not too long ago, I had to sit on my hands to keep myself from answering their delivery line. My Pavlovian response to answer any ringing telephone will I'm sure result in some sort of awkward confrontation involving myself and an employee at saaaaay, Kitchenette, The Gap, Bank of America...(see: any business that has a phone...)
2. The impulse to organize any desk I see. Usually before I get upstairs to a new job, I have to stop at lobby reception to sign in. It is here that I've begun to recognize my habit of looking at names on packages and sorting them into piles according to size. I have gotten many a sideways glance from security guards in the entry ways to these offices.
3. A smooth and seductive phone voice. It's often these days that my phone voice scares even me. "Good morning, Major League Soccer..." I find myself crooning to the voice on the other end. I don't even know where this deep, sexy voice comes from, I NEVER use it in my real life, it's like my alternate receptionist/"I'm gonna answer the phone AND do you.." persona involuntarily takes over the second I settle down in my new desk chair.
4. An inability to put up with anyone giving me crap about not doing my job correctly. "I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR AN HOUR, of course I don't know where Gary Goldman of College Sports Network is sitting." "No, I DON'T know where you take your fed-ex, why don't you try the MAIL-ROOM." Being a polite lady from Georgia, I am constantly shocking myself with my lack of patience for ANY bullshit or stupid questions (yes they CERTAINLY DO exist). It's quite refreshing.
5. Just generally not giving a damn about where or who I work with. Do not get me wrong, I do a great job wherever I am, but I no longer worry about getting in trouble. I'll start out the day reading my book at the desk and then wait for someone to tell me not to, (how am I supposed to know?) Sometimes, no one will say anything and I'll get a great day of reading in. Other times, someone WILL scold me and I'll employ tendency number 4, explain that I'm new, and get back to my googling. (Unless there is restricted Internet which is really just an entire blog unto itself)
All in all, I really love temping. I never know where I'm going or who I'm going to see. I always know that I'll be answering phones and reading and spending a lot of time on the Internet, but, as I've mentioned before, there's always a surprise waiting in the kitchen, even it it's just free coffee. And, like I've just said, I'm acquiring some really important and invaluable life skills from my experiences at reception desks across this great City.
1. The innate, reflex reaction I have acquired to the sound of any ringing phone (aside from a cell). Dining in a busy restaurant not too long ago, I had to sit on my hands to keep myself from answering their delivery line. My Pavlovian response to answer any ringing telephone will I'm sure result in some sort of awkward confrontation involving myself and an employee at saaaaay, Kitchenette, The Gap, Bank of America...(see: any business that has a phone...)
2. The impulse to organize any desk I see. Usually before I get upstairs to a new job, I have to stop at lobby reception to sign in. It is here that I've begun to recognize my habit of looking at names on packages and sorting them into piles according to size. I have gotten many a sideways glance from security guards in the entry ways to these offices.
3. A smooth and seductive phone voice. It's often these days that my phone voice scares even me. "Good morning, Major League Soccer..." I find myself crooning to the voice on the other end. I don't even know where this deep, sexy voice comes from, I NEVER use it in my real life, it's like my alternate receptionist/"I'm gonna answer the phone AND do you.." persona involuntarily takes over the second I settle down in my new desk chair.
4. An inability to put up with anyone giving me crap about not doing my job correctly. "I'VE ONLY BEEN HERE FOR AN HOUR, of course I don't know where Gary Goldman of College Sports Network is sitting." "No, I DON'T know where you take your fed-ex, why don't you try the MAIL-ROOM." Being a polite lady from Georgia, I am constantly shocking myself with my lack of patience for ANY bullshit or stupid questions (yes they CERTAINLY DO exist). It's quite refreshing.
5. Just generally not giving a damn about where or who I work with. Do not get me wrong, I do a great job wherever I am, but I no longer worry about getting in trouble. I'll start out the day reading my book at the desk and then wait for someone to tell me not to, (how am I supposed to know?) Sometimes, no one will say anything and I'll get a great day of reading in. Other times, someone WILL scold me and I'll employ tendency number 4, explain that I'm new, and get back to my googling. (Unless there is restricted Internet which is really just an entire blog unto itself)
All in all, I really love temping. I never know where I'm going or who I'm going to see. I always know that I'll be answering phones and reading and spending a lot of time on the Internet, but, as I've mentioned before, there's always a surprise waiting in the kitchen, even it it's just free coffee. And, like I've just said, I'm acquiring some really important and invaluable life skills from my experiences at reception desks across this great City.
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