The Customer Isn't Always Right


By Evelyn Salgado

     “The customer is always right.” This dreaded phrase anyone who has worked in the customer service field hates to hear. For some odd reason, our culture has adopted the practice of mistreating retail workers, as if they are not human beings. There is always the story of stubborn customers complaining on why their expired coupons aren’t being accepted. Or the repetitive answer on why the sale from last week isn’t still going on.
     However, we must thank retail workers for putting up with so much. Customer service is something people don’t really understand until they, including you, become a customer service employee. So, it’s always appreciated when you do something small to help make their day a little easier. Many believe that this is a waste of time because “it’s their job”, and while that may be true, we must take a step back and take an insightful look at our own hypocrisy. Faster service cannot be provided if employees are cleaning after you, and things like an expired coupon is completely out of their control. No matter how much they wish they could have reminded you to use that coupon two years ago before it expired.
Customer service shouldn’t be such a dreaded position. Interacting with one another should be filled with new experiences and knowledge, let us learn from the mistakes of others and treat others the way we want to be treated. We are all human.

Dual Enrollment Conundrum


By Garrett Shiflet

      Dual enrollment students, high school students jumpstarting their college education at Lake Sumter State College. But the question remains where you would take it? Your options are simple, at the high school or at the college. However, keep in mind, dual enrollment at Lake-Sumter campuses can be rewarding experience especially at the campuses with diverse students, excellent faculty, and flexible options.
      Dual enrollment offers many opportunities to meet and acquainted yourself with many different peers. You’re going to be getting acquainted with numerous new peers of varying origins of the counties of Lake and Sumter as well as adult students. In fact, in Spring 2017; according to the Dual Enrollment Research Review, 958 students enrolled total in dual enrollment so you’ll meet plenty at the campus you attend. Students like Sabrina Hilbert who said of her dual enrollment experience so far, “Overall it was just what I expected of higher educational institution. There was an air of courtesy and dignity when I first walked on campus”. Such new liberties are found to be uplifting to many like Sabrina with more mature speech to students and ability to speak openly about issues you feel need discussion, appeal criticism, and creating an open forum where your speech can blossom.  In all you’re getting a taste of Lake-Sumter State College experiencing the flavors, aromas, and sights of the campuses by taking class on-campus which involves having a large and vocal student body.
        This is a great opportunity to meet the members of Lake-Sumter State College’s faculty as if you plan to enroll you already have a great advantage of prior involvement and begin building a network of helpful staff that can prove useful later as you progress after high school. Opportunities persist throughout campus as you can begin to get involved in campus activities, learn about events, and discuss improvement of your skills with professors. The understanding of professors and dual enrollment students is a great importance even that current returning dual enrollment student Hope Jones said on the matter, “The professors understand the students’ situation of being enrolled in both high school and college and take interest in helping students”. Though even high school dual enrollment has great teacher and student involvement as spoken for by former-dual enrollment student and currently enrolled student, Brandon Clark; “There was lots of one on one help with the teacher in my dual enrollment classes every day and teamwork with classmates”. Perhaps therefore it’s a contributing factor to the success rates in Fall 2016 being 100% for DE students from Sumter County and 99.94% for Lake County schools proving it’s a successful venture for anyone with the want to and drive to.
      Lake-Sumter runs on flexible schedule for its students with options personalized for you thus any problem with on-campus dual enrollment can be mitigated. By taking on-campus dual enrollment that means getting up for classes and driving to them costing gas and money, a problem for some like Brandon Clark as, “Lesser travel back and forth since I can just go to the high school”. However, the high schools do offer busing to campus to allow you to take on-campus dual enrollment so travel expense can be lessened. Not only this but Lake-Sumter can be flexible to your schedule such as if you’re a night owl you can easily take night classes on-campus or even online.
       Truly your options at Lake Sumter are endless and dual enrollment provides an excellent opportunity. For further information about Lake Sumter State College and its classes consult our staff of academic advisors for dual enrollment such as Leesburg’s Melissa Villafane reachable at (352)-365-3574, Sumterville’s Kelly Hickmon at (352)-568-0001, and South Lake’s Kristine Valentine at (352)-536-2282. For further information visit www.lssc.edu. And if you have advise; as a current or past dual enrollment student or a Lake-Sumter full-time; for future and current dual enrollment please contact The Angler at lssc.angler@gmail.com

Flu Prevention

By Makou Lin

   Do you know that one person that never gets sick? It’s quite possible that they take precautions against germs. Let this season be the season where you start taking precautions against influenza, commonly known as the flu. Emerging rapidly across the U.S., the 2018 flu has everyone on edge for better hygiene. This year, with more than 30-recorded deaths of influenza by the CDC, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, hospitals have been filling up across the nation - some relying on outdoor health tents to care for sick patients. People must start caring for themselves.

As an LSSC student, precautions should be taken everyday to keep their health in the clear. Not only do hundreds of people touch the door handles of the front office, many use the same hands to touch one or more parts of themselves. That being said, classrooms are no exceptions. Sitting down on a chair that someone else has sat on, taking notes on a table with someone else’s food crumbs, and reading crushed notes from the bottom trash of your backpack. Nothing is safe from the flu, especially since it is an air-borne illness (A disease that can spread through the air).

Here are some everyday precautions to keep the flu out:
1.Pay Attention to What You Touch.
a.The best way to avoid the flu is to, literally, not touch the flu. When students touch an infected anything, they become the reservoir that holds the flu virus. It clings, and it crawls on your skin waiting for the right moment when you just touch your face, yuck.
b.However, students cannot help it. If they don’t open the doors, who will? If they do not pull out the chairs, how will they sit? Will they stand? Of course not, but that does not mean they get a free pass against the flu. Paying attention to what you touch, would make you second guess putting that pen cap in your mouth. Or putting your pencil above your lips or laying your head on your hands. Just don’t forget and risk it because in the end, you are just spreading it.
2.Go Wash Your Hands.
a.You feel dirty because you touched something sticky on the chair, or you just slid your hand across the desk and there’s a few dust puffs stuck to you. What must you do? Wash your hands. Don’t be that person who just brushes it off. Because your still infected, according to the NHS, National Health Services, a flu virus can live up 15 minutes on tissue, including skin, and 24 hours on hard surfaces.
b.Plus, there is no excuse. At Lake Sumter, there is a bathroom in every building, even in the library, just unlocked for you. It welcomes you because it knows that washing your hands is the number one way to prevent the spread of disease.
3.Step Back.
a.Do you remember that the flu is an air-borne disease? That wherever you go, you might just breathe it in. Based on studies from the CDC, the flu virus can travel up to 6ft. on tiny particles in the air, like moisture from your breath. But, there’s nothing to fear if you just take a step back. No need to be so close to someone who is trying their best to not cough in your face. And even more so, if you’re the sick one. And if it feels awkward to step back. Communicate your concerns, you are still human, and you can still get very, very sick.

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