To be fed up of a client facing job

[tootsytoo]

Wanting a rant really, I know I should be fortunate to have a job right now that pays well but I am just fed up with dealing with the public and can't help how I feel. Not really sure there's a viable solution right now but just want to get off my chest and have no one really to talk to about it.

I’ve done it in one way shape or form since leaving school, 20 years later I’ve had it.

My job is in the legal sector, but I’m really starting to loathe dealing with clients.

Things I hate;

The stupid questions,

How people expect you to respond to an email sometimes within minutes (had a guy call me three minutes after sending an email asking if I had read it?!!)

How people call my mobile, don't say their name, and start talking like I know who they are when I’ve spoken to them once two months ago,

When people call and don’t leave a damn voicemail,

When people ask/expect me to respond in the evening or at the weekends Because they’re only thinking of themselves

When people call and want me to give advice after a 30 second conversation when they’ve told me two things about their situation - when I need the bigger picture

When clients panic about everything so end up being worse off because of their inability to deal with things

When people call me on the freaking weekends, sometimes in the evening - like I haven't got anything better to do on a Sunday night

This isn’t a post about leaving my job, that’s not possible, reality is I can’t right now.

I need to find a way to stop so much hate, some people are so demanding and selfish and I guess I'm just fed up of dealing with them.

A lot of that is just dealing with people.

You need to set some boundaries though. Turn your work phone off at evenings and weekends. Very bizarre that you wouldn't do this.

And why do you care if someone doesn't leave a VM. Ball's in their court then. You don't need to do anything, they gave to phone you back.

I know how you feel completely. I've been client facing for 14 years and I'm being made redundant on Friday. I've hated it for a few years and complain about the people daily, but I found myself getting emotional today about leaving, I think I'll actually miss it!

It winds me up when they come in to ask a question about a letter they've received. And the answer is literally there in black and white in the letter. I want to shout at them 'HAVE YOU EVEN BLOODY READ THIS?'.

Cards not working - because they're putting the wrong PIN in. But they insist it's the right one. Oh well the machine must be wrong then, not you!

Changing banks because our branch is shutting. Which bank are you changing to, since there aren't any others in town either? Oh I'll go to a different bank in a nearby town. Well you might as well stay with us since that's where our nearest branch will be!

A very frustrating argument I had with one fellow was that he thinks all banks should club together to open a big branch and each have one counter to serve their customers. Despite the logistical impossibility of this I pointed out that the Post Office is just like that, any bank customer can use their counter for deposits and withdrawals. That's not good enough he says though, because there's always a queue!

@RavingAnnie very difficult to set boundaries because it's the type of client facing role where people need answers quickly and if they don't - they take the business elsewhere.

DH gets annoyed if I don't answer the phone says I'm losing business 😔

@DoneAdulting 🤣🤣 your post cheered me up - it's great to know someone else can feel my pain (not in a mean way but you get what I mean!!!) because when I mention this to anyone in RL they just think I'm being miserable.

I'm so done with client facing that I don't even like talking to people outside of work - not friends and family but striking up mew relationships of any sort - neighbours for example. I just don't like people much anymore and believe it's due to the job!

Like you say, people call asking what a letter means when it's in Black and Effin white?

Also, they email for a stupid question they could have googled - and now it takes ten minutes out of my day to type a stupid reply.

I'd love to know a way to never have to speak to a client again but like you say then I'd probably miss it!!

I'd love to hear more stories from people about what absolutely pisses them off in their client facing job!

Just to balance it, I've been client facing for 20 years but since the pandemic my role has been moved and I miss seeing clients so much! While I hear you about the frustration and their neediness and even ignorance sometimes I really miss that interaction now and am completely fed up of just being at a screen all day every day.

I love being in house for this reason. And I try to be the most reasonable client in existence because I remember. The stuff that lands as you’re leaving the office at 6pm on a Friday that needs a (partner signed off) answer by 9am Monday...grrrrr

Ok the first thing you can do is put in place is some boundaries.
Make your working hours clear. Set up an out of hours working policy which guides clients on what is an emergency and what is not. Attach a different rate card to this.
The only way you should then receive client communications is if they follow this procedure. Get a new phone if possible.
Next set up some working procedures that include average response rates to emails. Set up an auto responder which reiterates this.
Get rid of any multiple and repeat offenders. The cost is too high on your mental health.

Yanbu- I used to work for the British Embassy overseas on while most people were lovely, it actually shocked me that some people just wanted you to magic up some solution and they’re not responsible for their own lives. From people just flying from the UK without a return ticket home and no money and insurance (they thought we’d just have to pay for them to get home) to people that wanted to live in the countries I worked in without knowing the language, having the paperwork etc it drove me insane. I also used to evacuate large groups of people in crisis situations like hurricanes and I’d get complaints because people didn’t want to leave their hotels - erm your hotel is about to come crashing down about us but yeah, have a nice day by the pool! I’m just trying to keep you alive! You honestly couldn’t make it up. I will never go back to a client facing role, and everyone who does this for a living has my utmost respect!

Also a lawyer (in house, very busy) and I’m just hating the job currently! It’s the constant interruptions from clients with urgent queries that is really getting me down. I just want to be left alone to get on with the urgent work I already have. Have resorted to putting my out of office on to let clients know that I’m not checking my emails today and they need to ring me if it is truly urgent. Hopefully they won’t...

Honestly these stories make me feel so much better! Like I'm not a complete miserable cow as I was starting to think it's just me that has these feelings towards people!??

Some of the things as another poster pointed out you just couldn't make it up!!

Any more stories please share as I'm finding this quite amusing to share our pain 🤣

Op is your dh your boss? I don't understand why he gets angry with you if you don't answer your work phone.

Hell is other people, OP!

I work in an advice setting and although we are a charity some clients can be incredibly demanding/unreasonable. It can be so draining, especially when they come back repeatedly and have not followed the advice they were given so their problem has escalated and becomes increasingly difficult to do anything about

@Motnight because we lose business and that impacts on him too - we both work earning the same and if I lose business it impacts on the whole household so the way he sees it we both must do all we can to provide income and not turn business down.

Which in part I do understand, but it gets me down

Oh how refreshing is it to hear the it's not just me!

Clients and people are generally a pain in the arse!!

Bring on retirement :)

Being client facing is draining.

I have a mentoring/ therapist role and can see up to 7 clients a day. Often I love it, but like today for example I've received some bad news and my mind is all over the place and it's very hard to give people my undivided attention and concentration. Client or patient dealing roles are very hard to manage on these days as you cant hide away behind admin or choose a less intense or stressful task to do, you have to be there engaging and listening fully which is really exhausting.

Ultimately I do enjoy my job. Its just very hard to do on the days I'm not feeling it and I can suffer compassion fatigue and even just listening fatigue (if that's a thing).

[quote tootsytoo]@RavingAnnie very difficult to set boundaries because it's the type of client facing role where people need answers quickly and if they don't - they take the business elsewhere.

DH gets annoyed if I don't answer the phone says I'm losing business 😔[/quote]
Well that's not the customers fault. As a customer if you are available to take calls they will call you! You can't blame them for that.

I often call people at weekends and evenings as that works better for me. I make the assumption that if the business is not available to take calls during that time then they won't answer and I'll leave a message. The business can then come back to me at a time that suits them.

You are making the decision to take calls at the evening and weekend in order to secure more work. And then moaning about it. That's your decision not the fault of the customer. You could make the decision that you don't want to take calls at evenings and weekends so turn your phone off but that might mean you lose business. There's always a trade off when you want a work life balance whatever business you work in.

Or if it's your DH that's pushing this and you would rather have your evenings and weekends then you have a DH problem, not a customer problem.

Boundaries can be an issue wherever you work and whatever you do. My DH is an employee and not in a customer facing role. He works all sorts of crazy hours because there is always something to do and it's often "urgent". His firm will take and take as much as he is willing to give. He has to therefore set boundaries of the time he is willing to give up to balance the needs of work with having a life outside of work and also thinking about his own physical and mental health.

The herd to set boundaries is not limited to the self-employed or customer facing roles. And if you don't set the boundaries then no-one will set them for you and you will find yourself getting increasingly frustrated and pissed off and unhappy.

It's even MORE important for those who are self employed as your time is money so it can be harder to take off evenings, weekends and holidays. You have to decide what your boundary is and firmly stick to it. Everyone needs a break from work. You'll go mad otherwise.

[quote tootsytoo]@DoneAdulting 🤣🤣 your post cheered me up - it's great to know someone else can feel my pain (not in a mean way but you get what I mean!!!) because when I mention this to anyone in RL they just think I'm being miserable.

I'm so done with client facing that I don't even like talking to people outside of work - not friends and family but striking up mew relationships of any sort - neighbours for example. I just don't like people much anymore and believe it's due to the job!

Like you say, people call asking what a letter means when it's in Black and Effin white?

Also, they email for a stupid question they could have googled - and now it takes ten minutes out of my day to type a stupid reply.

I'd love to know a way to never have to speak to a client again but like you say then I'd probably miss it!![/quote]
Oh that's bad. You have real "person fatigue". You are going to get to the point soon when it starts leaching out and then you'll simply not be able to do it at all. You need a break!!!!

@Mreggsworth

Being client facing is draining.

I have a mentoring/ therapist role and can see up to 7 clients a day. Often I love it, but like today for example I've received some bad news and my mind is all over the place and it's very hard to give people my undivided attention and concentration. Client or patient dealing roles are very hard to manage on these days as you cant hide away behind admin or choose a less intense or stressful task to do, you have to be there engaging and listening fully which is really exhausting.

Ultimately I do enjoy my job. Its just very hard to do on the days I'm not feeling it and I can suffer compassion fatigue and even just listening fatigue (if that's a thing).

I completely relate to this. I also work in a client facing role where listening and compassion are needed everyday.

This year or so has been so hard for many reasons. I have multiple physical and mental health issues and these along with the pandemic and lockdowns, plus the way my job has changed as a result (negative changes) have made this year so hard.

I have been really struggling on many days to care and listen. I have tried not to show it to the clients as it's not their fault but have had lots of days where I've thought "oh another redundancy". "Whatever, there are worse things that could happen, I was suicidal yesterday!" To be clear I would never say that to a client and seem to cover it up well as I always get good feedback. I am usually very understanding and emphatic but have had real compassion fatigue this year. It's like I have nothing left to muster up the strength to care. Not sure how I've managed it tbh and have spent many days contemplating just jacking it all in.

I think this year has been so hard on everyone and normal stresses and things that bother us about our lives have been amplified. Hopefully for everyone there is light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccination program going so well 🤞🏻

How people expect you to respond to an email sometimes within minutes (had a guy call me three minutes after sending an email asking if I had read it?!!)

I have a colleague who rings me and when I am on another call and he cant get through, he immediately messages to ask if my phone is working.

Anyway, back to the clients! I'm working in finance and finding as time goes on with covid, everyone is seeming a little agitated, which is making me anxious as people are seeming to 'snap' easily. As a people pleaser this kills me.
Last month I received an email to say a v important client was 'not happy at all' over a minor mistake that was rectified in ten minutes.

@RavingAnnie

Sorry you've had such a tough time.

Yes its exhausting. I can listen to some people in total despair and occasionally not even feel remotely emotionally touched by it, and my responses are very much just out of routine and practice of knowing the right thing to say. I sometimes feel guilt for this but then realise I'm not a cold or unsympathetic person, I do care. Just on that particular occasion I'm just experiencing compassion fatigue.

@Mreggsworth

It's good to hear that it's affected others as I have felt guilty for it and if I can't do this work any more....if I no longer care it's not fair on the clients.

I had a similar thought last week ie that I am still a caring person, it's just everything else means at the moment I don't have much left for anyone else. I'm just making it through each day at the moment. Realising that has actually helped and it's been much better this week and i have had more compassion and it hasn't felt so much like I'm dragging myself through each work day.

I know it's not clients fault as someone pointed out I totally get it - but doesn't help that way I'm feeling.

Honestly some of my client interactions make me angry, snappy, moody, like other posters point out I don't have empathy that I would like to. I do the job right because I care enough to ensure they get the best outcome - but I don't 'care' about the I situation if that makes sense and it makes me Sad.

I want to feel happy for them and really chuft to help but I just....don't.

Oh wow I'm so glad to see more responses of others feeling the same, I too have questioned if I'm just cold hearted or a nasty person but I feel comfort knowing maybe I'm not and others experience similar

If you have an android phone
Set up an auto text reply
You can even set it so that it will send different reply’s to different contact numbers
Best thing I ever did
Although I have yet to put on one that reads fuck off you cunt - I’m busy painting my nails 😂 I have it worded a few auto reply’s for certain clients in such a way that’s pretty much what it says