I had a long day today at work and I just want to rant a little. I work in sales, and my job is a lot like telemarketing except instead of trying to get you to go to a workshop or get a time share or something, we’re contracted by local high schools and colleges to sell advertisement space for sports events. Because we work for schools all over the country, our sales are over the phone.

Now, my co workers are awesome. I really have no issues with anyone I work with. The only real complaints I have about my company are:

1. SUPER inflexible with our schedules when they advertise “flexible hours” to new applicants. Also, very long hours. Not only that, but even if you have an absence that’s supposed to have been excused, it counts against you and you can be suspended for missing more than 2 days in a 6 month period.

2. It’s 2018 and people hate taking phone calls these days more than ever. Usually business owners won’t take calls or don’t come in regularly. Many places tell us that we need to visit their website or Facebook to fill out a request form. Some even have messages on their answering machines that specifically say that they don’t check the messages and rarely answer the phone, so to text them. They have our hands tied. It seems they’re more worried about the sale happening over the phone than it happening at all. I think it would be more productive for us to reach out to some businesses in ways other than a phone call.

Now onto my real complaint, my job has made me lose complete faith in human decency. I get that nobody likes sales calls, but I’m literally just doing my job. You don’t have to buy, but is it really necessary to cut me off, yell at me, insult me, ect? I live in a town of about 1,200 people tops. Office jobs are very far and few between and most are taken up by women in their 40’s and 50’s who are actually overqualified but unable to find jobs in their field, given how small the job market is here.

Without a degree, most jobs available are factory work, cleaning houses, waitressing, fast food, retail, jobs that require a lot of standing, but due to a myriad of health issues (fibromyalgia, flat feet, knocked knees, and rheumatoid arthritis, all issues that started when I was just 13), I can’t stand for 8 hours. I can’t even stand for two hours. I get shin splints in the shower from standing (and I’m 5’7 and 120lbs so it isn’t my weight, just poor bone structure and joints). My health issues are the same reason I had to drop out of college and start working. I couldn’t handle working and college at the same time and I was falling massively behind in both, but I’m not a rich kid, so my family can’t afford to support me while I finish school either.

I guess my point is, don’t be hateful to people when you really don’t know what their situation is. Trust me, I’d rather find another office job, but I haven’t been able to.