Respect

Can I vent a little?  I'm going to; it is my blog after all.

Yesterday, while I was at work, I took several phone calls where customers became exceedingly upset with me and the company.  It's understandable:  many felt like they had been billed incorrectly.  People evidently get pretty touchy when you start talking about money.  I don't really relate to that because I am a poor college student and, thus, have no money.  In fact, you've probably heard me talk about how little money I have.  But this is beside the point I'm trying to make with this post...

Anyway, people don't like it when they think we've overcharged them.  Despite my best intentions (for them and the company), people didn't seem to think that I cared enough about them to fix the problem.  I did, though; if anything, my time at Tahitian Noni taught me how to care for these people on the phone that I would likely never speak to again.  I want to help them.  So, I would go about my investigations, find out that they haven't been overcharged, and return to the call to tell them the good news.  Imagine my shock when they don't believe me!  I try to explain why (I've even had people get out their calculators so they can follow the math), but that doesn't hardly ever change their opinion that they have been overcharged.  Because they could see a larger charge than they were expecting on their bank statements, they refused to believe what I was saying/explaining.  Then, they would get super mad at me because they thought that I was trying to shake them off or lie to them about their bill.  One guy even asked me if I knew what I was doing and how to do my job.

It crushed me yesterday.  I wanted to quit.  The only reason I stayed is because this is my first real week on the phones.  Maybe it was pride that kept me there:  I'd like to think that I'm not a quitter, and I'd really like to prove to some of these people how incredibly rude they were.  Today, the phone calls were significantly better.  I even spoke to one of the same people today as I did yesterday (he didn't remember me, though).

I guess the point I'm trying to make is this:  be respectful.  I don't know what was running through these people's brains to make them throw out all manners and social graces.  Maybe when I actually have money, I'll think that way when it looks like I'm being overcharged.  But these people showed me just how low people can go when they refuse to accept that they could be wrong.  I understand that they are upset; in an economy that is less than stellar, money is tight.  But does it give them the right to treat another human being like garbage?  I would venture so far as to say, "No..."

I try to be the agent that everyone would love to speak to in a call center.  I don't generally push things (unless I'm being pushed to push), and I try to get you on your way as quickly as possible.  I also try to respect your wishes.  If I accidentally cut you off mid-sentence, I apologize and ask for you to continue.  If you don't sound super-pleased to be on the phone, I tend to call you Mr. or Mrs. instead of by your first name.  I try to say "please" and "thank you" when I make requests.

Is it too much to ask for respect in turn?  If I can be respectful while you are insulting my intelligence and humanity, certainly you can soften the blow a bit.  Certainly, there are better ways to handle ourselves.  We as humans are capable of higher thought and reasoning:  we have logic and intuition at our disposal.  Let's act like it and treat others as we would want to be treated.