What did you learn at your first job that you have utilized at every job since? originally appeared on Quora – the place to gain and share knowledge, empowering people to learn from others and better understand the world.
Answer by Hope Laust, Design technologist, novel writer, on Quora:
When I was 16, I dropped out of business college, because I spent so much time in doctor’s offices that it was getting hard to keep up with the lessons. I quit in February, and didn’t start again until August, so my dad got me a job at the amusement park. What exciting job opportunities awaited me there? I’ll tell ya! I was in charge of some skeeball machines. One of the crappiest jobs of all. I can still hear the melody the machines made *shudders*. Anyway.
My manager, Annette, was a bit of a hardball. She wanted things done her way, and basically if you couldn’t read her mind, you were screwed. I had some job security, because my dad was both her and her boss’ mechanic, so, you know, things worked out.
Annette’s biggest concern was, you guessed it, making money. So she asked us worker bees to yell out to the customers, get them engaged, make them aware that the skeeball game exists.
I was 16 and anxious, and in no rush to yell out to strangers, but Annette insisted repeatedly, almost daily, so I gave it a go. I was still uncomfortable about it the 100th time I did it, and I had a rising suspicion that people really don’t like being yelled at. So what did I do? I noted down, over several days, how many customers tried the game when I didn’t yell, how many did when I yelled, and how many heard me yell and went straight by. Obviously it was an imperfect statistic, but it proved my point that people don’t like being told what to do, especially when it concerns their money.
I showed my notes to Annette, who laughed and said that, if that was the case, I shouldn’t yell out to people.
What I try to do at my job now, rather than telling people why they should spend their money on what I’m selling, is giving them the options, and gently letting them know why the other option sucks.
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