Learning at a snail's pace

I have been released to the public! Our team have started to be rotated off the phones, and sent out to deal with the general public. We are to be rotated on a 3 weekly roster out of the phone area. Apparently our names were randomly selected to take it in turns. My name was the first. I say "apparently" our names were randomly selected because I think it is obvious that they have selected the team member who has mastered the phones the most. Yes, yes...I know. I'm a conceited prick, aren't I? 8)

Anyway, I thought I would be able to deal with our public customers and that I would have someone to sit with me, and make sure I didn't totally balls anything up. I was very much mistaken. Not about having a 'buddy', but about dealing with the public. Not for me, is the pleasure of being abused by a poor soul sick of beating their head against the brick wall of the public service. No. Not at all.

Instead, I have had the thrill of processing paperwork. I can't even make my week sound more exciting by listing off more than one activity. Paperwork is it! Processing forms EVERY day.

Actually, I tell a little lie. I did spend some time during one day, with the mail lady, learning the intricacies of processing the mail for our office. What a challenge. It wasn't too bad, she knows that it is piss easy, menial work, but sometimes it is good to do work during which you can tune out.

But, apart from that, I have been processing forms all week. And not even a variety of forms. I have only been processing two types of forms. I tell you what though, I am now the office expert at these two type of forms. YAY me!


Things have progressed slightly today. I have been allowed to deal with people who have some into our office, but only if they have one of the two forms in question to give to us. This then makes me a hobbled customer service officer. I ask the people waiting to be served "is anyone here lodging a *insert cryptic public service acronym* form?" That is all I can do.

Of course, this doesn't stop people from asking me other questions. Many times today, I have had to tell people I am new, and essentially have no idea what to do. Which goes down surprisingly well. I have even explained to some people that they are better off talking to someone else who will give them the right information, instead of me making things up and getting it wrong. I usually say this with a smile, and people don't mind.

The thing that annoys me the most, is when I get someone who I ask if the have a specific form to lodge, to which they say yes, but when I get them to my desk, they start with "I have this letter..." AAAARRRGGGHHH! It is soooooo annoying. Once they are at my desk, I have to try and deal with them as best I can, which usually means finding someone else to sort them out at my desk, while I stand around like chopped liver. Admittedly, some people do have the forms I can deal with, and then they have other questions, but I don't get the people who flat out lie to me. Why do they do it? Do I have "SUCKER" tattooed on my forehead? I guess I can understand it, these people see me as a shortcut to service instead of waiting in line for ages, but they don't seem to think about the inconvenience it causes other people. I do find a certain amount of pleasure in the fact that sometimes I have to wait a while for another CSO to be available. This can be enough to disadvantage them in relation to the queue of waiting people. Of course, I am polite to them while they are waiting, but inside I am thinking "Sucked in".

I digress. My main beef in this post is the lack of variety in my work, and lack of ability to do a large portion of what the other workers do in my office. I know that there is a lot of support for me, and the others in my team. My co-workers know that there is a hell of a lot to learn, and everyone is always happy to help out. But, I have let my team leaders know that I am ready and willing to learn so much more, but things are going so, so slowly.

Anyway, I will see how the rest of the week goes. Who knows, maybe one day, I will learn enough to actually serve a member of the public for real! Wouldn't that be exciting?

DPS