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Updates from Upperclassmen by Alexis Mack and Nyamouc Guen

Being a junior in the year of 2023 has been difficult for many of us at ALHS. This time in our lives is a huge transition; we are going from being underclassmen to upperclassmen, from being carefree to very overwhelmed. When we were younger, we had fewer responsibilities and more free time.

Now, though, our schedules are jam-packed with school, all the homework that comes with taking college classes, work, sports, activities, and possibly squeezing in a little time for fun. We are told to have fun, that these our “the best years of our lives,” but it can feel really hard to make time for any fun. Not only are our schedules full, but we feel the weight of so many expectations, whether that be from our family, parents and even the school. We know that everyone cares about us and wants the best for us, but sometimes, it can feel like too much. We would love for our community to know that we are trying our best and to cut us some slack.

For most teenagers, working customer service is very common. We work at restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores, gas stations and retail stores; many of us are trying to save for things like college or a car, while others are looking to increase their spending money. A lot of teenagers today also work to support their families and even help pay bills. Both of us wanted to get jobs for the opportunity to get out of our comfort zones and gain experience. While working gives teenagers many of these positive benefits, there are some disadvantages of working in customer service. Though we haven’t had any horror stories from working at our jobs, we’ve had some challenges and have heard some stories from others. We’ve heard that customers can be very impatient or have a rude tone. Our friends have said how bad they feel, how customers can make them feel less than human. They have said how customers can be condescending and act like they are better than the workers who are serving them. Overall, customer service can have both positive and negative benefits, but all of us who work in customer service would really appreciate it if customers treated us the way they would like to be treated.

As a junior who works at a local retail store, I (Alexis) know how customer service can really be, especially at its worst. I’ve worked customer service for a long time, and I can tell you that it is really hard to work with customers who make you feel like you shouldn’t even be working at this place or make you feel like you’re some robot with no feelings at all. It can be really frustrating and stressful working with customers who freak out or blame the workers for things out of our control. It seems like our customers don’t realize that we’re also high school students who have lots of other stressful things going on, and it would be lovely not to have this stress from work as well. While most days there will always be someone who makes a comment that can throw off your day and get under your skin, there are days where customers treat us amazing and make jokes that leave us with a smile. We really appreciate those kinds of customers.

All I want to ask is when you’re buying something and see something wrong, don’t freak out, just come find one of the workers and please try to be kind. I do understand that there are people out there who don’t take their jobs seriously, but there are also those who do take it seriously, and when we get a comment about something bad, it can instantly make us feel useless and like we aren’t good enough. Most of the time, we are just doing what we are told to do or we may not even work in the department we are trying to help. In my own personal experience I have had both good and bad customers. I’ve had a customer who has freaked out on me about chocolate chip prices and pushed a cart into another customer. I also have had customers who make jokes or compliment me and my hard work; some days I have had both.

We would really appreciate it if customers could give us teens a break, especially because we are overloaded with so many things and also because we can’t control everything. We don’t know everything and are still learning. Maybe the best way to help a worker, or anyone for that matter, out is to just treat others the way you would want to be treated.

Alexis Mack and Nyamouc Guen are juniors at Albert Lea High School.