Team Player: Sales Support at Pinkabella Cupcakes

Overview

 

An influential co-curricular learning experience has been working, sometimes multiple jobs at a time, whilst being a fulltime student. The job that I have held the longest is as Sales Support at Pinkabella Cupcakes. I have had this job for three years not only because it was financially necessary, but because it has given me valuable customer service experience and has taught me how to work with people. In the food industry, interacting with customers is a daily requirement and over the course of my employment, I have become able to decipher what I enjoy and what I don’t enjoy in my place of work.

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Personal Importance of Work 

 

Even though this job is not related to my intended career path, it does not detract from the significant impact it has had on my life. The combination of being a student who commutes from home and working at Pinkabella Cupcakes has enabled me to attend the University of Washington for the entirety of my undergraduate experience. The hours I have worked at this occupation are enough for me to save up money to pay for tuition and books without the aid of my parents. To avoid being an additional financial burden to my parents is a huge relief. As a minimum wage worker, I feel extremely proud of my ability to put myself through higher level education. 

 

Tasks Accomplished 

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• Sales Support at Pinkabella Cupcakes for three years (2017-present) 

  • ​Responsible for communicating with customers/ coworkers 

  • Cleaning the shop throughout my shift (i.e. washing containers, sweeping, organizing supplies, etc.) 

  • Having knowledge about the names, flavors, and pricing of every type of cupcake

  • Answering customer questions/ concerns over the phone 

  • Making sales (hundreds of dollars each shift)

  • Restocking the cupcake case 

  • Placing the nightly cupcake order for the next day 

  • Taking inventory of the delivered cupcakes in the morning 

  • Opening/ closing the register  

  • Training new employees 

  • Giving mall customers directions to other stores

 

Leadership Competencies Gained

Conflict Negotiation
With years of experience in customer service comes correspondingly with many happy and unhappy customers. When working at Pinkabella Cupcakes I deal with many picky and frustrated customers. Customers tend to get upset over situations that are out of my control such as the pricing or being sold out of a certain flavor that they wanted. In these situations, I would listen to their problems and then do my best to accommodate to their needs. This would entail offering an alternative, similar flavor, checking our backstock, and figuring out the next date that we will have their desired flavor. Going through this process numerous times has taught me to handle heated situations with a calm and understanding approach to avoid heightening the tension. 

Excellence
Whether it be in academics, at work, or in my personal life I attempt to give my best effort in everything that I do. When working in customer service, I have learned to be composed even when customers are being unreasonable. I do not take their attitude or comments too personally and still give them service to the best of my abilities to leave them with the best impression of the company. When the shop is busy, I am quick and effective in my work. When it is a slow day, I thoroughly clean and prepare for the next rush. This skill has benefited me academically and in my personal relationships with professors, friends, family, and classmates as well. 

Functioning Independently
At Pinkabella Cupcakes we work our shifts by ourselves without the supervision of the manager. This means that whatever problems may arise during my shift, it is solely up to me to take initiative and fix the issue. Whether it be a customer with a complaint, a shortage of containers or certain cupcake flavors, or missing cake orders, I have to determine the best steps to take. For example, when I open the shop in the morning, I check the order log for the cakes that are scheduled for pickup. There have been days when an order is either missing or incomplete. I then have to call our delivery man to see if he had the order and forgot to drop it off. If not, I’ll then call the bakery to see if the order was completed and if someone can drop it off at my location. Acting quickly allows these situations to be resolved before the customer arrives at their scheduled pickup time which is good practice for any busy workplace I may experience in the future. 

Goals 
In high school, my main goal was to apply and get into UW Seattle as well as find a job that would allow me to afford this endeavor. After checking that off my list, my focus shifted from getting into my majors to graduating. Each quarter as I pay for my tuition and books, I become increasingly closer to meeting my goal of graduating. It leaves me with a sense of pride knowing that I am being self-sufficient and putting myself through college. As a current junior, I am motivated to finish the rest of this year and next year by being conservative with my money management and always keeping in mind my overarching goal of graduating! 

Organization 
As an employee at a high traffic mall, organization is critical. Weekends are especially busy as I have to juggle a line of customers, making sales, while simultaneously answering customer questions in person and on the phone. I have to be able to assist customers quickly with my knowledge of our products, pricing, website navigation, and more. The structure of Pinkabella Cupcakes relies on one’s ability to effectively interact with customers in order to make sales. Without adequate organization, the till would be inaccurate, gift cards would not be properly made, and the nightly order would be incorrect. This job has given me a newfound respect and understanding about how to handle a hectic work environment. 

Personal Contributions
My strengths include my ability and willingness to learn and being an effective communicator and a reliable worker. I am also vocal about changes that I feel need to be made in order to improve the efficiency of the company. When working at Pinkabella Cupcakes I am able to utilize my knowledge of the mall in which we are located as well as my dedication and commitment to the job. Making sales also allows me to exhibit my accuracy, reliability, and productivity skills. My skills combined with those of my coworkers establish a solid team of employees. Working with them has taught me how to build off the ideas and experiences of others. 

Positive Attitude 
Whether I am tired from waking up early to open the shop or exhausted because I’ve worked all day and I have to close the shop, I maintain the smile on my face. I show up to every shift prepared to provide help and kindness to each potential customer. It brings me genuine happiness to talk with regular customers and get to know them beyond a strictly surface level relationship. I have learned that customers have a more difficult time reacting angrily to a worker who is being polite and smiling despite their complaints. Having an optimistic and hopeful outlook on my jobs has allowed me to create a positive environment for myself and customers while I am there. 

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Future Oriented Statement

Working at Pinkabella Cupcakes has supplied me with a myriad of people/ conversational skills that I will be able to utilize in job interviews, group assignments, networking events, etc. It has also taught me to be patient and understanding and how to listen to people in order to help them. This realization helped me come to the conclusion that in the future I desire a career that involves working with people directly. My ability to set my mind to the goal of paying for my own college education has made me recognize that I am more competent and capable than I give myself credit for.