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Customer Service Job Analysis

Decent Essays

It’s interesting that, sometimes, when people expect to really like something, they end up disliking it. Other times, they expect to really dislike something, but they find that they really liked it. When I decided to volunteer at St. Luke Episcopal Hospital, I don’t think I really understood what I was signing up for. I signed up because I wanted to help the patients in a consequential, however, small ways. I thought that I could help the most in jobs that involved interactions with patients. So, when the volunteer coordinator, Nancy, she asked me where I wanted to work, I told her that I wanted to work anywhere where I would be able to interact with patients. I added that I preferred to not work at the gift shop, where I would not see many …show more content…

When I arrived, the nurses gladly welcomed me. However, as the days passed by, it became more apparent that there was nothing for me to do. During the endoscopy procedures, I could only observe. After the procedure, the nurses cleaned the equipment. Other nurses wheeled the patients to their resting area. A secretary answered phone calls. After days of trying to find things for me to do, even the nurses admitted that there was nothing. So, I asked Nancy if there was some other place where I could help more. She said that the hospital gift shop looking for volunteers. However, I was a bit less inclined towards working in the gift shop. Sensing my reluctance, Nancy told me that a spot at one of the patient floors would open in a few days. Soon, I transferred there. Immediately, I found that there was more that I could help with. For the most part, I answered patient calls and relayed their concerns to the nurses. I enjoyed myself, thinking that finally, I was able to help in some way. However, soon it became more apparent that the secretaries and nurses were simply trying to find things for me to do so that I wouldn’t get bored. Normally, the secretaries answered the patient calls. Still, they let me answer those calls so that I wouldn’t just sit there and watch them blankly. Dejected, again, I asked to be transferred out again. This time, Nancy informed me that the only opening was at the hospital gift …show more content…

Although many patient families frequented the gift shop, the gift shop mostly catered to hospital employees who could buy expensive items via monthly payment plans. The proceeds of the gift shop were given to the volunteer organizations. One volunteer organization financially helped critical patients who couldn’t afford their healthcare. Another organization assisted post operative patients in debt, who could not afford to pay their electricity and water bills. The gift shops actually helped financially distressed patients. Once I learned that, my initial reluctance faded away, and I really enjoyed working at the gift shop. At the gift shop, I wasn’t redundant. I wasn’t watching others work. I wasn’t doing small parts of other people’s job in an attempt to prevent boredom. Instead, I had my own set of duties that kept me busy throughout my entire shift. At the gift shop, I wasn’t surrounded by patients and healthcare professionals, as I originally wanted, but helping patients indirectly through the gift shop was more satisfying. The job I was most hesitant about proved to be the best job for

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