Identity vs. anonymity

Since my junior year of high school, I have gone through six different jobs at six different locations. Being an opinion writer is currently the sixth. The writing jobs I have are the most rewarding. The pay has not in any way been sustainable, but the identity as a writer, a fond dream of mine, pays the bills for career-building morale. Although I have the great satisfaction of doing something I have always wanted to do, my primary job is being a clerk.

A clerk must adhere to a designated dress code, a subordinate attitude and the wearing of a nametag. A company giving me a name tag always reminds me of the scenes in prison movies when the fresh fish inmates are stripped of their individuality and given a long number to memorize as their new name.

My nametag still reads the name that everyone calls me by, but combined with the same blue button up shirt and look of entrapment as everyone else in the restaurant kitchen. The world around me suddenly shrinks. I am not against doing my job under nametags. I am only puzzled by why my nametag only serves as keeping a list of slip-ups with customers and co-workers. Being a cashier, a bagger and a waiter once before, I have realized that having a nametag is a perfect way to possibly build a bad reputation outside the job for doing work that usually is not applied in the real world. I do not feel alone in saying that clerks and job titles of that sort attract customers who are born to destroy.

Anyone with a clerk history has enjoyed the experience of dealing with very annoying people but at the same time resisting the urge to snap. Any break in the subordinate attitude results in penalties that feel like they parallel with receiving 12 points on a driver's license. It is like a sick joke to attempt to deal with a problem or a person (usually one in the same) that is way beyond one's control without showing some sign of frustration.

Forgetting to scan someone's grocery store discount card or forgetting someone's glass that has only been empty for a few minutes, does not make the earth shift on its axis. However, it seems like it. The strange thing is the fact that people can be aware of how busy a clerk or waiter can be, but still expect to be treated like the only people in the store. The only person losing face on both sides of the frustrating transaction is the clerk.

Because he or she is wearing the nametag, all the flack comes back to them. A company title followed by your name must make it your fault. Most of the companies I have worked for have trained me fairly well for the daily procedures, but one or two did not. So, when a customer addresses a mistake I made, how fair is it that I catch all of the heat? Either the nametag should include training information or there should not be a nametag at all. If there is anything to report to a manager, a good manager should already know.

After all of the name calling and accusations, is a clerk's name praised for doing a decent job? No, the company as a whole receives the glory. I cannot remember the last time I walked into a place of business and saw an employee of the month plaque with the employee's picture on it. I think that kind of recognition has faded out.

Customers should wear nametags. Why not? Unless they are paying by cash, they are creating a paper trail of where they have gone that day. Besides, I was trained that they like being addressed when they approach the checkout line. Customer name tags would also help the poor clerk as well. I know some people have a knack for remembering names, but for a person like myself, unless I have shared more than three-minute conversation with you, I will most likely forget your name. Official customer nametags will also help the managers catch the kids who keep stealing the 20-ounce sodas.

How about this?

Every person who shops is given a nametag. However, if a shopper pledges allegiance to one type of store amongst a sea of similar competitors, he or she only has to wear the nametag for six months. By that time, the customer's face should be familiar with all seasoned employees and their loyalty to the store should gain them some sort of discount. The nametag will remain void unless the allegiance is broken to a competitor business. Let us put the "importance" back into Harris Teeters' VIC cards.

Imagine the new wave of competition schemes that Wal-Mart, Target, Food Lion and BP would dream up just so that customers could earn their discounts and anonymity. However, this is yet another discussion.

This writer can be contacted at opinion@theeastcarolinian.com.