Case Study: Birnbaum's Tenacity

Birnbaum’s Tenacity “You can ask me the hard questions. I can handle it,” I replied to the store manager when she came in to give me my Kohl’s interview. Over the past year, I have worked hours on my feet, answering those hard questions for a broad range of people. At the end of my shift, I look down the hill at the beautiful new hospital and think about how the hard work I do every day has prepared me to be the person I want to be: a capable doctor. The high intensity atmosphere that blankets Kohl’s has given me the physical stamina I will need when I start working in a hospital. An eight-hour shift on the floor can consist of running, while being dragged to shiny tile by the mountains of clothes under my arms, to answer questions or …show more content…
The store’s difficult problems end up in the hands of the customer service team. We coordinate even exchanges that cheat the online system, sort through millions of options to find specific codes for items on the decrepit database, figure out ways to diffuse an angry customer before they explode, damage out five-year-old pillows that have sweat stains on them, and devise ways to return fifty items without a receipt. I unlocked the door on one occasion, to find mountains of broken machines, erupting boxes, and used bath towels, that needed to be sorted and taken out of the cubicle as soon as the long line of customers was gone. I have learned how to prioritize, think outside of the box, and work with a team, by working at the service desk. I will need the critical thinking skills I have gained to diagnose and treat difficult cases when I get my …show more content…
Luckily, I work under the policy “the customer is always right”. I project Disney Princess levels of joy to every single customer I interact with, because it makes even the unhappiest of people easier to help. As both a Kohl’s associate and a doctor, my job will always be to help people who cannot help themselves. A customer comes in every week to purchase and return birthday cards. A warning goes out over the head sets as soon as she walks in the door. I never let her antics bother me and always greet her how I would anyone else, “Hi! I’m so happy to see you. Did you find everything ok today?” I do not get paid enough and do not have enough energy in me to argue with someone who does not have anyone to abuse at home. The day I put on a white coat and a stethoscope, I will be told how incompetent and how useless I am by patients who did not get a jello cup from a nurse, but at least I won’t be phased by it because I deal with those special kinds of people every