Hemlock Soup for the Soul
Some people, by existing, just make the world a worse place.A phone call was transferred to me at work today. The woman on the other end responded to my greeting with "what's your fax number?" Mishearing her, I began to explain the form in which we needed to receive her submission -- word count, information included, etc.
She (rightly) stopped me and said, "No, I asked what was the FAX number."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I replied, "I thought you had asked for..."
Interrupted again. "What's the fax number?? Gah!" (Implied: "I am speaking to a person of extremely limited intelligence.")
"The fax number for submitting..."
Interrupted. "What's the fax number???"
Can't risk a complete sentence this time. "555-7777" (not the real one of course).
"Okay then." Conversation complete.
I managed to wait about two seconds for her to hang up before nearly shattering the plastic shell of my phone. Tears of mortification were already welling. I had experienced the slightest glimpse of what it is like to sincerely be seen as less than human.
Yes, perhaps today's been yet another stressful day and I'm being too touchy. But this woman has no idea (nor, perhaps, does she care) how completely worthless she made another of her species feel.
Yes, my mistake and attempt at a polite structure in rectifying it wasted about seven seconds of her valuable time and my can't-be-over-soon-enough time. I wish I hadn't made the mistake, for both of our sakes.
For my own sake, I wish she hadn't poisoned my afternoon's worth of job satisfaction. For her sake, I hope she doesn't have the integrity to be the same kind of person to everyone she meets. If she does, her life is sheer, lonely misery.
And may this bitter cup teach me anew that strangers are people too.
posted by Lynn @ 3:02 PM
1 Comments:
Sounds like a nasty call; not one I’d like to take, either, believe me. On the bright side, though, it does look like it gave you time for reflection on the human condition—always a good thing.
But this may not be just a simple matter of jerkiness-meets-irenicism.
The other day, a co-worker of mine sent me something dealing with “caller-resolution,” built from the model of a Myers-Briggs personality grid. The idea was to get the phone peeps acquainted with different personality types and adjust their approach accordingly. Within this (perhaps somewhat oversimplified) framework, there were four major personality types identified:
The “Controller”: Results-Oriented. (Likely your caller.) These people don’t wish to be bothered with details; they just want the issue resolved. The practical tips for dealing with this person were as follows: a) directly address the issue, b) speed up the pace of the conversation, and c) provide a clear timeline for results. Phone peeps are encouraged to demonstrate a) confidence, b) ownership of the issue and c) a “can do” attitude
The “Feeler”: Empathy-Oriented. (You, I suspect.) These people want to be understood how they feel about their issue and wish others to adopt a sympathetic approach in resolving it. Practical tips for dealing with these people: a) call the person by name, b) provide assurance that the issue will be resolved, and c) demonstrate personal involvement. Phone peeps must demonstrate a) empathy (I think that’s often confused with sympathy in the corporate world), b) patience, c) understanding, and d) sincerity. (A lot of ethos-building needed here.)
The “Thinker”: Process-Oriented. (Me, I think.) These people want to take the time to have the resolution steps fully explained and want to be allowed to talk. Practical tips for these people: a) do not interrupt, b) explain the resolution process, c) slow down the pace of the conversation. Phone peeps must demonstrate a) good listening skills, b) thoroughness, and c) transparency into next steps.
The “Entertainer” (not the Joplin ragtime tune): Social-Oriented. These people want to be treated as an individual person and do not like being provided with generic answers. Practical steps for dealing with these folks: a) maintain an informal tone, b) do not provide scripted answers, and c) mention personal information, if appropriate. Phone peeps must demonstrate a) a sense of humor, b) creativity, and c) friendliness.
What the phone peeps are being asked to do is to take a personality profile of themselves and then look for ways to identify personality types of those they deal with over the phone. Basically, they are being encouraged to pay attention to the KOTD. Apparently, people like looking at themselves, and this idea of “mirroring” the other person—once that person’s type is (more or less) identified—is meant to make things go more smoothly.
Forgive me for my too much “thinker” approach to responding to this. I’m trying to take into account your “feeler” approach to many situations. I thought this really might be helpful information for you, seeing how it it’s basically about assuming the communicative burden—kind of a Christ-like rhetorical approach, I guess? I know that’s something you value. :)
(And just in case anybody wants to sue, this comes from Breaking the Issue Resolution Barrier: Personality-Based Issue Resolution—Bradford & Bingley plc by the folks at the Customer Contact Council and the Corporate Executive Board. [No jokes about my sources, please. ;)])
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