The material presented
here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method
to exchange
information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal
level.
Oh I lost it! Imagine a call center worker on the other side of the world, Shes working through the night, and then she has to take a crowded bus home in the morning to a crowded house and have her family take her wages. She was a star student, learned English and even an American accent for this work. Then she gets a customer like me. What can I do to make it up? Yikes!
I have to return my purchase by next Monday to get it replaced under the 30 day warranty. The only phone number I have is tek support (have to wait in queue 30 minutes each of the 7 times I have called so far). They told me I need sales, and they have been closed each time Ive called. Nobody can know the time the sales department is open and nobody can give their direct number. I finally behaved in a manner that is not worthy of me, and is certainly not worthy of my tek supporter.
Is it so awful to become frustrated in this world of "hurry up and wait?" It is almost impossible to talk with a human being on the telephone; when you finally do, they often don't know how to help, and more often don't care. It is a "computer glitch. Nothing we can do about it" Well....yes there is...get someone to fix the damned computer!!!! Is it so awful to expect better service than we get nowadays? Emphatically, NO!!!. Don't be hard on yourself. So you behaved in a way that didn't exactly please you. It makes no sense at all to believe that the frustration, disrespect, and downright ineptitude we are so often greeted with is deserving of our wasting a minute regreting our backlash. If no one ever says, "I won't have this anymore," the offender thinks everything is a-ok. Take up for yourself, and don't beat yourself up for doing so.
Diva
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"Speak your truth quietly and clearly..." Desiderata
I am with Diva on this one!!! I have been there too. While I understand how you might want to be disappointed in yourself, try not to be. We are only human. It is so very, very frustrating to try to get service issues resolved on the phone, especially when the number they give you is someone half a world away in another country. I have absolutely nothing against those people trying to do the jobs.
I called the other day with a problem with my internet connection and talk to a lady in India??? And she is nice, polite and trying to be helpful...but I can understand about half of what she says because of her accent. After no less than and hour and 15 minutes I get transferred to someone in the US..finally!!! This person runs a diagnoistic test and finds out, its not my equipment its the phone service...sigh.
As calmly as I could I thanked her then told her how I felt about outsourcing tech support to foreign countries and asked her to pass this info on to the higher ups.
I dunno, I think you are right to look at your behaviour, and, if you are not being the person you want to be, to use this as a wake up call. That is what this program is about - not to find excuses for bad behaviour, but to find ways to stop repeating it.
One thing that could be done is to realize that this type of experience pushes your buttons, and do what you can to avoid dealing with it - write a physical letter, use the company's e-mail address, etc. If that is not possible, do things to make the frustration less - one I have found is to make sure I have recently gone to the bathroom, before dialing that 1-800 number! Use the cordless phone, so you can do other things while on hold, make sure you HAVE an hour or so, because you know it will take that long, and so on. Sometimes it may mean just letting the issue go - it may not be worth the time and frustration of the phone call.
This program teaches us to ask "What was my part in it?" This is what you are doing in this post - good for you!
Pander to ignorance, apathy and unkindness from those whose job it is to deal with the public? NEVER!!! I don't think AlAnon comes close to advocating that. Make 'em stand up and do a proper job!!!
Diva
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"Speak your truth quietly and clearly..." Desiderata
hm... how do you know she's a star student, & all those other details?
Either you had a personal conversation with her, in which case, part of what she may remember is that you took the time to treat her like a human being - in this case, I would try to remember that an inventory is supposed to take note of positive attributes as well as negative;
or, you're guessing - in which case, I would try to remember that I actually cannot read minds, and even though I'm sometimes right, I'm also sometimes wrong, and I actually do not know what the tech took away from the conversation.
Not to say, of course, that I shouldn't go ahead and try to keep my side of the street cleaner next time. I guess for me, "say what you mean, but don't say it mean" would apply here.
i experienced this torment on the telephone last week. i mean IT WAS AWFUL . just when i was ready to pitch a fit and swallow the phone, my higher power asked me....., "what can i do in the future to avoid this type of situatution?" yes, a wake up call for sure. [pardon the pun]
thank you friends. wisdom in every viewpoint. i used email and was able to resolve it before the deadline. yes i will see my part in behavior i don't like, and i will do better next time.
As someone who works retail, I feel for you. I also know how frustrating it can be to get answers by someone who really can't answer them! When I have to call a place as a last resort, and I'm frustrated I always preface the call by saying to them: "I realize that this is not your fault, but .......". It sends the message that you are having a hard time but you know that they are not at fault. Glad you were able to resolve this.
Love and blessings to you and your family.
Live strong, Karilynn & Pipers Kitty
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It's your life. Take no prisoners. You will have it your way.
