Customer service

[clevermanka]

Every summer I say I'm going to quit doing stuff for the Center for the Study of Science Fiction's summer stuff and every year I find a way to shed a little bit of my responsibilities to it. This year I'm done. Absolutely done. I have no more spoons to give these people. I'm going to hand off the housing responsibilities to someone else--anyone else. I'll be the first contact person for financials because a non-KU employee can't access the payment and registration systems, but any actual issues will be routed through someone else.

Last week msmitti posted about how she's not cut out for a customer service job. It made me think about why I like what I do (the part of what I do that is actually most of my job description and not the extra tasks I've accepted). I don't mind helping people, and in fact I like making people's lives easier and more enjoyable, but it absolutely must be a mutually beneficial arrangement. Otherwise I get frustrated and fed up.

I am a solid and recognizable presence for the graduate students. When I help them, they are immediately, incredibly grateful. They also know (or quickly learn) that there are consequences to ignoring my instructions.

The CSSF summer participants don't know me. To them I'm a vague concept who magically solves problems behind a curtain. I only hear their complaints and deal with the problems they cause. If they fail to do something per my instructions nothing bad happens to them. I have to deal with the fallout, mitigate the damage, or arrange to pay (often literally) for their mistakes. Of course they continue to do the same things, year after year because they see no repercussions. There is also no institutional memory from year to year like with the graduate students who hear from other graduate students Listen to Clever Manka. She can save your life or ruin it. Don't fuck with her.

I cannot and I will not continue to provide customer services to the CSSF summer activity participants. It's not healthy for anyone--especially me or mckitterick. It's bad enough that they take all of his time and energy so that we barely see each other for a month. I refuse to continue to let them take my time and energy to the point where when I do see him, I am either too exhausted to enjoy his company or I'm being rageful and and angry in my interactions with him.

I'm done. This week I'll be in contact with someone to take over this last responsibility and if she can't/won't do it, I'm still quitting.

Summer 2015 will be better. I'm not doing this again.

Comments

[pointoforigin.livejournal.com]

I only experienced this a couple of times, from the opposite side, that of a student/resident during the Workshop. Some of my experience was before your arrival, but it was just the same!! These problems have not changed in 20 years! I don't understand it, but clearly there is an institutional system failure that can't be fixed by one individual, no matter how dedicated and talented. I heartily agree that you've been pushing that rock uphill for long enough. I don't know how they'll manage without you, but they've got a year so I hope they figure out how to deal with it. (And I'm sure it's not mckitterick's fault, either. I won't say better men than he have found it hard to make things work at KU, because I don't think a better man has ever given it a try. But he's certainly not alone in this fix.)

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Seriously, thank you. Because I'll be honest, part of me was thinking "Is this just me? Maybe this is just me." I know I have control issues. But I fucking embrace those control issues because those control issues are what helps me get shit done. This stuff, though? This shit is not getting done. At least not to my satisfaction.

Thank you for agreeing and pointing out that this is a Sisyphean task. I can't do it any more while maintaining my mental health.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

I think our only solution is simply to _force_ the Housing people to deal with things themselves. Sure, we'll collect our students' Housing fees, but we simply cannot go on hoping that a one-step-removed process does anything but complicate things and frustrate everyone. They ridiculously called CM last night (Sunday night!), and when she and I finally connected, all it did was cast a pall on the going-away festivities... because it didn't matter last night, anyhow. Ugh.

I'll be very sorry to see CM go, and we learned last year that simply adding another person who isn't Housing to work with that department doesn't work. If Housing doesn't agree, I'm going to bump it up to the Provost if need be!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I apologize for casting a pall. It would have been better for me to just have ignored the issue. I'm too heavily invested in trying to save the Center money. I take it personally when it costs us funds because someone didn't follow directions. Cutting myself off from those issues entirely is the only way I can keep myself from becoming emotionally involved.

In the long run, I don't think my assistance is doing either of us any good on a personal level.

[mckitterick.livejournal.com]

I think your analysis is right, that because those staying in the dorm never work with you face-to-face, and their only interactions with you are when there's a problem (usually due to misunderstanding), your only association is negative - both ways. When, in fact, they should be grateful and appreciative!

I very much appreciate your being a bulldog about watching expenses; I only wish we didn't have to worry about that at all. The ongoing, unacceptable irritations imposed by worthless tools and two-stages-removed communications only serve as barriers to that and to the satisfaction of a job well done. I want people to go away telling others what a great experience they had here, not how irritating Housing was, or how confusing the online enrollment tool was, or so forth. No lost revenue is worth that. I've emphasized this year that, without your help, I could not offer a tenth of what I can with it. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I don't know what I'll do without your help - spend a ton more money hiring someone to handle it if Housing continues to fail to do their job, I guess - we'll end up spending more on that than any amount of losses each year. Where's the savings in that? IRONY.

Something that most attendees tell me that they love about the Center is how we build community. This is the thing I love doing most - helping writers become more skilled and artistic, and scholars better understand SF - while building connections between people. I got this today:

"I am so touched by the warmth and warm human element that you are blessed with. You are an inspiring teacher, great facilitator and very diplomatic when it comes to handling difficult situations. I never expected so much from the Director of Gunn Centre. There is no competition and the credit goes to you for creating that kind of atmosphere. There is a splendid feeling of camaraderie and intellectual excitement."

That's why I do this. I just wish you could be a part of it, on the community-building side of things.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Unfortunately, at this point I would rather see them all mowed to the ground by fire-hoses than be even on the fringes of that community.

[siro-gravity.livejournal.com]

good for you!!!!

SUCKS when people can't be team players unless they themselves have to suffer the consequences of their behavior. And it's just as much the school's fault for not getting behind you, as it is the perpetrators' for not following through.

Thumbs up on quitting!!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Well, the school doesn't have anything to do with this program, and it's certainly not their responsibility to deal with these problems. What we need is a better way to house the participants because the housing department is super problematic. Our contact person for housing is aces and does his best, but man the housing department at KU is the epitome of a bloated, bureaucratic machine that won't alter policy even when failing to do so hampers the productivity and reputation of the university.

[etcet.livejournal.com]

"There is also no institutional memory from year to year like with the graduate students who hear from other graduate students Listen to Clever Manka. She can save your life or ruin it. Don't fuck with her."

Clever Manka is Granny _______ from Discworld.

HEADCANON ACCEPTED.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I feel like now I need to read Discworld...

[etcet.livejournal.com]

Or, whatever the Terry Pratchett books with Granny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax in 'em are - they're wonderfully witchy characters, but you may not blame me for any ensuing cosplay ideas you get :)

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

The Tiffany Aching novels are great, they are technically YA but get more sophisticated throughout the series. Also, he skewers fluffy woo woo wonderfully. There are some other Discworld novels with the witches but I haven't made it to them (yet).

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yeah, looking at all the titles of that series is a tad overwhelming...

[kazoogrrl.livejournal.com]

Took me a LONG time to try them because I mistakenly thought they'd be like the Xanth books (pffffpt). The Friends I Trust To Recommend Books To Me seems to like the Witches and Death focused books the most.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Oh god, the Xanth books. *cringe* I read the first one in high school, and was like "Um...really?" Tried the second one and ugh. Just, how gross can one author be about women? SHOCKINGLY GROSS, that's how.

[msmitti.livejournal.com]

Personal consequences are generally the only thing that will get people's attention/cooperation in some matters. I'm sorry there are none here, but good for you for making a boundary and sticking to it.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

I agree. With both statements.

[seascribe.livejournal.com]

Good for you! That sounds like a good thing to get out of. Another checkmark in the "Ways Clever Manka is my adult rolemodel" column.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Ha ha ha ha! I love that! I actually consider myself to be a FUCKIN' STELLAR adult. I work hard when I'm working, but when I'm not, I party like a teenager (a teenager with access to drugs and booze and porn and really loud music, anyway).



God damn I love being an adult. I wouldn't go back to childhood for a million dollars.

[stuology.livejournal.com]

Summer 2015 will be better. I'm not doing this again

Wahoo!

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

[ms-danson.livejournal.com]

Go you.

[clevermanka.livejournal.com]

Yep. Taking care of myself is my first priority. Plus, at this point I am doing a really shitty job of dealing with the housing stuff and it's not fair to anyone for me to continue.

[redheadfae.livejournal.com]

I'm glad to hear that you are quitting this. It's horrible that the repercussions from other people's messes spill over your private lives.

[sherwood21.livejournal.com]

You should not do things for which there is no reward. *hugs*