Honesty To The Rescue ...

While I don't deal with the public, per se ... I've learned that I still have to "put on a happy face" on a semi-regular basis.  I wouldn't say what I have to do is lie.  I would say what I have to do ... is act.  And I have to act on a level that should earn me, at the very least, a Golden Globe.

When you have received your fourth call, and this caller ... like all the ones before him ... is demanding you drop what you're doing and fix a problem ... or order a document ... or just listen to them talk about what is wrong with an order.  It's a Herculean effort to put a smile in your voice and say, "Sure ... I can help you with that ... no problem at all."

I'm still new at this ... so I'm afraid I let the curtain drop occasionally.  Today was going relatively well ... then suddenly it was as if someone kicked a hornet's nest into a box fan.  The phone started ringing off the hook ... problem after problem after problem ... none of which were my orders.  They were all based on orders my co-worker took.  Since he's on vacation this week, I was left trying to pick up the threads of conversations that he'd been having with customer service reps ... and it was maddening.

Finally I got a phone call from a brusque New York agent who asked, without caring, "Good morning.  How are you doing?"   Before he could immediately start discussing his issues ... and without thinking ... my filter dropped and I said, "Not well ... I'm the only one here taking care of corporate document retrieval and, quite frankly, things couldn't be worse if there were 500 monkeys in my cubical flinging poo.  So ... how can I help you?"


I'm not sure if it was the humor ... or the honesty ... or that people don't normally talk to one another like that in a professional environment ... but he burst out laughing.   From that moment on, he was wonderful to deal with.  I was able to help him with his problem ... and when he called again later to ask another question, he was kind and apologetic ... something I usually never get from the New York branch.

So .. am I suggesting you mention monkey poo to your co-workers?  Not in so many words ...

This is only Monday ... and my teammate is gone until Friday.  This is going to be a long week ...