Canes, Trains, and Literacy - June 18-22
As I sit here on July 5, feeling suddenly overwhelmed that I only have two weeks left, I find myself already feeling nostalgic for weeks gone by - like the one I describe here. I began tackling a new project, and trying my hand at "catalog customer service." Please read on, and thanks!
The week of June 18-22 was an interesting week of transition. I basically switched supervisors, because I am now working with Diane in organizing our nighttime release party for the new Harry Potter book. Diane has assigned people to party planning committees, and I literally laughed out loud while reading one of her e-mails, as I saw that I was listed on every committee. On Monday, I was feeling extremely nauseous, and, realizing that I have experienced some degree of nausea every day for a week now, I called my mom for advice, then set up an appointment with a relative's doctor for Tuesday. It was either bizarre food poisoning or a mild infection, I'd say.
Since my appointment was in the middle of the day, and it would take a while to get there, I ended up taking the day off and calling more bookstores for their Harry Potter release party ideas from home. My blood tests came back fine, and I began feeling better after Wednesday, so who knows what this flukey thing was. As I continued researching party ideas, I also began taking customer service calls and learning the system.
I copied the way Jason answered phones and took orders, as I figure I can design my own signature greeting later if I like. Jason is the only customer service guy currently on staff since Alison left. That is why I am here, because hers is the only empty desk I can use. But it makes sense, because I'll be covering customer service for a whole week soon. My first calls were from El Paso, Texas, and Highland Park, New Jersey. The first was pretty businesslike, but the second woman started telling me about her day, which was stressful because she had to take her guinea pig to the vet. I am now very excited to do customer service, because it will be fascinating to observe how different blind people do things. This sure was an eventful week!