Olympic sized patience.
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I am sure we have all heard the prayer: “Dear God, give me patience, and give it to me NOW!”
No doubt we have all had to hone our skills in exercising patience during the past several years, and with that patience, a certain degree of compassion when dealing with all things in the customer service industry.
I will start by saying that yours truly 100% appreciates those frontline employees who serve customers like you and me, some of whom are customers that might fly off the handle from time to time. (Guilty!) Case in point, when the provider of your/my internet service fails to deliver said service for a couple weeks in a row – even after sending technicians to the house to solve the apparently unsolvable issue – as customers, we take our frustration and anger out on the poor, pitiful soul who answers our phone call, not the technician who failed in their mission to diagnose the cause of said technical failure.
The good news is our internet service was eventually restored, so now that we once again have trusty internet service, there is no way I can go back to the three or four customer service agents with whom I spoke so that I can replace the rather testy and no holds barred language I used with words that are comforting and affirming. Nope. I dumped on them without restraint and for that I am a penitent who, if she could, would grovel on her hands and knees to where those agents work, and offer to at least make them their favorite beverage while also gifting them with a lifetime’s supply of home-baked cookies of their choice.
No doubt we have all had to hone our skills in exercising patience during the past several years, and with that patience, a certain degree of compassion when dealing with all things in the customer service industry.
I will start by saying that yours truly 100% appreciates those frontline employees who serve customers like you and me, some of whom are customers that might fly off the handle from time to time. (Guilty!) Case in point, when the provider of your/my internet service fails to deliver said service for a couple weeks in a row – even after sending technicians to the house to solve the apparently unsolvable issue – as customers, we take our frustration and anger out on the poor, pitiful soul who answers our phone call, not the technician who failed in their mission to diagnose the cause of said technical failure.
The good news is our internet service was eventually restored, so now that we once again have trusty internet service, there is no way I can go back to the three or four customer service agents with whom I spoke so that I can replace the rather testy and no holds barred language I used with words that are comforting and affirming. Nope. I dumped on them without restraint and for that I am a penitent who, if she could, would grovel on her hands and knees to where those agents work, and offer to at least make them their favorite beverage while also gifting them with a lifetime’s supply of home-baked cookies of their choice.
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What’s done is done, but at seventy-one years of age I have certainly learned that I now have the opportunity to do better next time (gawd help me if there is another internet-lacking next time) so that I don’t end up ruining someone’s day with my raised, abusive voice that doesn’t serve anyone…especially the customer service agent who is just doing the job for which they were hired.
Patience is a difficult state to attain and one that we’ll never arrive at in a perfect manner, but it is a state that we can endeavor to reach while also exercising compassion and kindness towards others. I would add that the Island of No Regrets is a destination that might not exist in real life, but I am willing to set my sights on getting there, if it means not having to bake millions of homemade cookies to gift those I might need to appease.
Patience is a difficult state to attain and one that we’ll never arrive at in a perfect manner, but it is a state that we can endeavor to reach while also exercising compassion and kindness towards others. I would add that the Island of No Regrets is a destination that might not exist in real life, but I am willing to set my sights on getting there, if it means not having to bake millions of homemade cookies to gift those I might need to appease.
Irene Frances Olson
Author of Requiem for the status quo, a novel that celebrates and encourages family caregivers of those with Alzheimer’s or other dementia. You can find that book HERE. In her second novel, A Jagged Journey, Ms. Olson encourages all who have ever hit speedhumps and roadblocks in their personal life, whose opinions and judgments about others may have taken abrupt and unexpected turns, to evolve and arrive at a place where hurt begets joy, where smarts don’t necessarily equate to intelligence, and vulnerability guarantees increased strength. Seems impossible, doesn’t it? Her new novel will make a believer out of you. Ms. Olson authors a blog, www.babyboomersandmore.com, a multi-aged community of diverse interests that is also known as Living: the ultimate team sport. Her weekly contributions have been enjoyed by readers for more than ten years. |