I have to answer phones at work. I find people are extremely rude oftentimes, expecting me to say who I am, but never willing to disclose who they are, or what they want.
You give them a friendly greeting, a voice full of cheer, and you identify yourself. What do you get in return? You get an idiot who is demanding, and what's more, unwilling to clearly state what he or she wants.
It stays in your memory. The older people get the less courteous they seem to be. You would think after years and years of employment, folks would know about phone courtesy. Usually, they have something to complain about. How does one find the rough edges to ward off the annoyance of their complaints?
I guess I need to get tough. To pucker up and suck it up. If you try to reprimand them, and say, "Why don't you identify who is calling so I can help you better?" they take offense. For my part, I need to slow down and shut up. I will be friendly, say the Thomas Edison-made greeting, "Hello," and identify the place they are calling and who they are talking to from now on, and then I will be silent. If I try and pump them for information, I would be a fool. I won't. If they can't speak up, then I will hang up.
Crazy world, isn't it? People get so much handed to them, and it is never, ever enough.
My problem is I am too obliging. I try and be helpful, thoughtful, and kind, and come out smelling like a pile of crap. So, if it is true, "No good deed goes unpunished," then I will just try and play it cool. I won't compromise my phone courtesy, but I certainly won't be anyone's whining board, or patsy, or Mother Theresa. Today's gratitude is for my phones, everywhere...
If you have A.D.H.D, or A.D.D. use good phone courtesy, and then shut up. It will do you a world of good.
© Amalia Zents 2010
No comments:
Post a Comment