By Melanie Arriaga, staff writer
2020 and 2021 has been a year of turmoil. It’s been a year of constant change and adapting to said change. With this in mind, one of the biggest changes was wearing a mask to prevent the spread of Covid-19. While some may like it and others may not, I wanted to give my personal insight on what it’s like wearing a mask at work and how different it is compared to working during pre-covid times.
In the summer of 2019, I got a job at a Fisherman’s Wharf at a gift shop, and it was sales based, meaning I had to interact with a lot of customers and see new faces everyday. The job was easy because I was able to see a person’s facial expression and that would ultimately help me figure out how close I was to a sale or if I needed to use another method. In addition, seeing people’s faces created a sense of familiarity and that allowed me to feel more relaxed when making a sale, in addition, seeing a person’s face changes the environment, it’s just more friendly.
In February of 2021, I started working at a tire shop called “Moes Tires”. This experience of working is vastly different compared to my time at the gift shop primarily because I have to wear a mask. My job is to charge customers, answer any questions clients have, check inventory, check tire sizes… the list goes on.
Working with a mask and trying to make sales is a big “no”. I say this because while wearing a mask, I can’t pick up on the customs facial expression which allow me to determine in what direction to take the sale, so I have to heavily rely on a overly friendly tone to ensure them that I’m not a threat or a stranger, that I am someone they cant trust and talk to.
But some people may think I’m faking being friendly, ultimately turning them off from purchasing tires. Not only that, but it creates an environment where it’s tense because since they can’t see my face, they see me as a complete stranger which makes the atmosphere more tense and nerve racking. In addition the customers can’t tell when I’m smiling and so they can turn sour really quick if they think I’m unfriendly.
To add to my misery, since the tire shop is located in San Bruno, when it’s a really hot day, the mask is suffocating, sticky and gross. I’m not against wearing a mask, it’s just difficult when you’re talking to customers all day and running back and forth. I have to change mask and sometimes take my mask off for a second to catch a breather (when there is no one around)
Though sometimes I have to roll tires out of cars or places and my hands get dirty and I accidentally touch my mask to lift it and I end up dirtying it which is the worst because I have oil smears on my mask. And Working with a mask does make it hard to hear people, because it’s muffled and since there is a lot of mechanical noise I can’t really hear people all that well and I pray they don’t get annoyed.
I miss times before covid. I miss seeing people’s faces, it makes me feel more safe. Working with a mask has completely changed my attitude towards work for the worse , seeing as it is a bit more restrictive etc… However if doctors can perform long surgeries with a mask on I can work at a tire shop with a mask. Though I never anticipated a global pandemic it has taught me the art of being patient and sympathetic towards others.
