Apr 29, 2005 11:16
Jane Tompkins is angry at the standard, and the standard is everywhere in everyones life. Why do we have to follow some standard that is set by people who don't understand one another. Tompkins cannot express her own feelings in her writing therefore is forced to meet the standard form of writing, which is not what she wants to do. Well just like Jane Tompkins I myself struggle from this oppressed standard. I work in a bank, and the standard is for the guys to wear ties and look proffesional, and for all employees to kiss the customers ass. This standard is by far the most oprresing i have ever encounterd.
It is sickening to see how fake people become when working there. I myself am lucky enough to be the kind of person that is normally nice to and respectful to people, so this job comes naturally to me. What doesn't come natural are all the problems and complaints that I recive from customers.
For example, if a customer comes in and is mad that there account is overdrawn, they automatically are blaming the teller. Somethings that customers say are, "You put my account overdrawn, and your taking all this money from me, and you are charging me all these fees." It is my fault that this stranger is overdrawn. The standard here tells me to calmly explain to the customer why they went overdrawn. While smiling at the same time I deliver the answer to them. After explaining this to the customer they are still frustrated and sometimes curse out loud or curse at me or at the bank.
When a non customer comes in to cash a check there are certain procedures that need to be done to identify if the check is valid and if the ID is valid. Sometimes the check cannot be processed due to the amount of the check. For instance, once I could not cash a check because I felt that the amount of the check was to high for the type of check it was, which sometimes can be fraud. So I calmly let the customer know that I am not able to cash the check and would have to take it somewhere else to cash it. The perfect explanation for this kind of situation. The customer reaches over the counter and rips the check from my hands and says "its drawn on your bank, you fucking idot" and walks away. My 1st instinct was to hop over the counter and destroy this man, but since the standard is to be professional I could not. I was restricted to just shaking it off and go onto the next customer.
Working at the bank has its perks, but something that really annoys me is the dresscode. I like to dress up sometimes when I go out, and I wear ties occasionally but not super tight. I hate tucking in my shirt and I hate wearing a belt. I am forced to dress this way. Luckily I have been able to keep my long hair, after several times of saying they wanted me to cut it, they gave up. The point I am trying to make is that I cannot be myself at the bank. I have to put on a fascade and hide the real me. If it was my choice I would wear a short sleeve shirt with a loose tie, shorts and a beanine, matching who I am perfectly. If I were to go against the standard dress code then I would be sent home and not be allowed to work; if continued I would be fired. Basically I would be losing my job if I did not follow this standard. I have to sit their and take it, I have to be tough, "be a man about it". INSERT TOMPKINS.