No, we aren't. Or most other places, for that matter.
I can fake extroversion for a while, but it's tiring.)
YES. ME TOO.
I don't have any trouble helping customers with questions, and I'm not at all against talking to someone, but it requires them to talk to me first. I'm pretty bad at holding a conversation without the other person setting the tempo.
YES YES YES. ME TOO.
I hope my silence doesn't come across as rudeness or soullessness, but I think it might.
Apparently, it does. I've gotten so many talks about this over the years I've been at Target that it's just a way of life now. For some reason, it's acceptable for normal-verts and extroverts to judge people that aren't like them, and they are correct in that judgement
even if they have never personally had one single interaction with that person, but it is wrong and unacceptable for an introvert to demand fair treatment and no judgements without the other person having personally interacted with them. And if you point this out, then you are "putting it on other people, blaming them, and making it their problem instead of just owning up to your improper behavior". Yes, my ETL told me that.
The society in our country revolves around extroversion. If you aren't extroverted, you are wrong. You are broken. You are stuck up. You are an ass. You are self-centered. You are demented. You just need to get out more. You just need to talk more. You just need to come out of your shell. etc. etc. and lots of other bulls***.
I'm really f*cking tired of this sh**.
Some people came out white, or black, or asian, or hispanic, or indian, or other things.
Some people came out with blonde hair, or red hair, or gray eyes.
Some people came out being left handed.
Some people came out with heftier frames.
Guess what?
Some people came out not having a special affinity for over-socializing.
YES, IT'S EXACTLY THE SAME THING.
F***ING DEAL WITH IT. If people don't get this through their thick skulls soon, I'm going to have to go Civil Rights Movement on this country's ass. The way we are treated is completely unacceptable. I'm not talking about retail only here anymore, this is society at large.
Then some other guys speculated that I was either a serial killer or an alien.
The serial killer thing is common. People constantly whispering and wondering about the introvert one day taking a sniper rifle or axe to the place, etc.
This person who just became a TL said they were scared of me at first, for a long time, when they first got hired as a TM. They said they then talked to me one day and found I was actually a nice person.
SURPRISE!
All this because I only respond 'hi' when greeted.
This is not enough for our extrovert masters. You need to talk. Bull**** with them. Shoot the sh**. Stand around. Sit on the desk and kick your feet back and forth. (Incidentally, these behaviors fast-track you to ETL interviews and offers). Don't talk about work stuff. Don't focus on your job. Don't put your job first, put the conversational boredom of your extrovert masters first. Talk about how much you drank over the weekend and got ditched by your friend at the club (even though we as introverts aren't typically even in to that scene).
I consider myself an introvert and I can relate to some of the things you mentioned. My coworkers don't have any theories about me, but I've been told that I'm intimidating. I've also had
a couple of team members ask if I have problems with them, since I don't really talk too much. I would also consider myself a bit shy and nothing is worse than having people
mistake your shyness, or desire to be alone, for rudeness. That being said, I do get along with my co-workers and I've hung out with a few outside of work.
Just make sure you greet them and smile. You don't have to initiate a deep personal conversation or put an overly dramatic smile.
I've gotten this exact same thing. But regarding the smile and hi thing, I was actually told this was not enough and that I DO need to initiate some more involved conversation.
I'M NOT BROKEN A**HOLES. STOP TRYING TO FIX ME.
I know I sound aggressive in this post, but I've been getting sh** like this for my entire life and I'm well GD sick of it.