You sighed as you clicked through another training video. This was so much more tedious than you expected. You didn’t even want this job that bad, you just needed something to pay the bills until something better comes along. You certainly didn’t need the lady in the training video telling you how crucial good service is. She was really drilling that point home, “Service with a smile!” She would repeat at the end of each training slide. It was turning your brain to mush each time she repeated it.

You admitted she had a point, you hate bad customer service too, but they didn’t have to dumb it down for you so much. It was so simple; just smile and serve, what was so complicated about that that you had to spend an hour of your weekend learning it? You did start to calm down and get into a rhythm of sorts after a while. The training video became less annoying and more soothing. You felt a little encouraged each time you answered the pop quiz sections correctly despite how easy they were.

Maybe it was just easy because being a good employee came so naturally to you. You were so good at following directions and listening to orders. Why wouldn’t you be excited about this job when it was so easy for you to provide service? The only thing you needed to work on was smiling. You had gotten to the employee uniform section and you were being stressed by the nice lady in the video that a good employee isn’t complete without a winning smile. You had to unlearn any cynical attitudes holding you back if you were going to serve.

You felt yourself practicing your smile as you visualized yourself in the proper store uniform with a well-trimmed haircut and no unsavory-looking jewelry or piercings. It was important to look your best if you wanted a promotion. Not that you wouldn’t be happy as a humble base-level employee forever. You could just tell you were going to love this job. You couldn’t think about anything other than providing good service once you took the store-provided headphones off. You were almost sad the training was over, it was very efficient and informative!

You walked up to the general manager in her office, smiling your brightest smile as you happily informed them your task was complete. She smiled at you as they grabbed your chin and examined you. You were happy to have their attention and hoped you were living up to their expectations. “You certainly look like you’ve learned a lot!” She compliments you much to your utter joy. “I know we said you start in a week but I think you’re ready to start on the floor tomorrow. What size shirt do you wear for your uniform?”