>Are you tired of hearing about all the depressing stuff going on in the world? Frustrated there never seems to be anything positive mentioned in the nightly news? Sick & tired of all the negativity in the world around you? Want some “good”, as in “not negative” in your life? What makes you happy, puts a smile on your face, & makes you jump with joy? Then pop on over to This Eclectic Life for this week’s “Only the Good” posting by Shelly.
You know the old saying “You catch more flies with honey than vinegar”? How often do we really stop & think about a situation instead of just reacting & getting angry? Especially when dealing with people over the phone? It is so easy to scream, rant, curse, or abuse a person verbally. Easier than doing it in person where others might be watching – although that doesn’t seem to stop some people.
I work with the public daily, in a customer service capacity of sorts. I work for an airline in their top frequent flyer reservations department.
Yesterday I had a gentleman call about his family’s flight for tomorrow (which would be today). Keep in mind this is Easter weekend so the airlines are busy & flights are full. His reservation was totally screwed up through no fault of his own or the airline; it was Orbitz’s mistake. He had not been notified of the changes & was part of a larger group traveling together. I won’t go into all the details. Suffice it to say, this man was angry & frustrated; rightfully so.
Despite his circumstances, this gentleman never once raised his voice to me. He never swore, called me names or blamed me for the problem. He asked intelligent questions; trying to find out what had happened. He was patient while I tried to fix the problem & was open to suggestions or alternatives to make this work. The wonderful gentleman really made my day! This call could have turned ugly very quickly, heck, it could have started out ugly but it didn’t. I would have still done my best to come to some sort of resolution, regardless of how the customer acted, but the whole complicated mess was made so much more pleasant by his attitude toward it.
Proverbs 15:1 ~ A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. (New American Standard)
Elizabeth
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