Getting myself caught up here as much as I can! & Week 14? Yeah, making me smack my forehead into my hand a couple of times! However I think I know where I can go with at least one of these, so here goes my #1 for week 14.
The art of people watching. It truly is an art and if done well you can figure out who to talk sarcastically to, who to be short with because they are in a rush, or who to be incredibly professional with, or to look like your extremely professional when you aren't... Anyway, here is the dynamics of true people watching and the best environments to do it in.
First is where are the best places to people watch? There are your normal park benches, malls, and so forth but the best are the front desk of a hotel, and the sidewalks of your busy Main street of your home town area. Watching people try to figure out your roads and why none of them make sense is extremely hilarious. Also, watching people look at all the neat stuff in the stores and them not realizing that they are walking into the traffic of cars is also quite interesting. It's almost like sometimes you wish one of them could get hit, not hard, just like a little tap. To make you go "Ha! Tourist."
At a hotel, you get people from everywhere: up north, down south, out west and out of the country. True people watching is an art when working at a front desk of a company and actually having to converse with these people or "sheep is something in its own." Most of the guests all say their "ooh's" and "ahh's" at the exact same things. How people carry themselves and talk with those around them can help depict how they may come talk to you. The ones with long faces and hands in their pockets, probably don't want to spend a lot of time checking into their room and knowing the area, they will just figure that out later somehow. The ones that walk in, immediately stare at everything from the floor to the ceiling are also the ones that walk into the center table with the large, very expensive vase with the flowers in it. Then they make their way to the counter to talk to you, and 10 minutes later they will give you their credit card to pay for their room.
People watching is an art when you can please even the stuffiest of people. Not everyone is easy to please and that is a fact. However when one can make those in front of them who choose not to be happy, pleased by the time they leave your presence... that's when you succeed. There are of course two types of people watching, judgmental watching and watching to learn something. Most of us don't mean to judge but it just happens anyway. "Those who judge get judged worse." So the main rules of watching is, don't get caught, and don't forget what you're doing. Always be on task and don't make the person you are watching feel like you're just creeping on them, otherwise, get good at it, it can become a very useful tool!
Your graf 3 here is definite keeper material--your expertise in the art you describe is stamped all over that material. FWIW, I try to be quick, quiet, businesslike at a hotel registration desk. If someone wants to take my bag, I let them and tip handsomely. I am not surprised at taxes on my bill, don't complain about the bed, don't clog the toilet, don't bitch about the hours of opening and closing of bar and breakfast.
ReplyDeleteThe perfect guest in my own biased opinion!