Since we're smack dab in the middle of the holiday season, can I put my two cents in on how us humans ought to interact with others? Some of y'all need reminding it seems. I'll use the emotion characters from Inside Out as a guide since many of ya'll seem to operate on an, uh, childlike level.
Anger: keep it in check. First off, as a person who both delivers and partakes of Customer Service on the phone on a regular basis, can I offer some advice? Raising your voice, complaining, interrupting and arguing are in no way the ideal way to provide customer service. I once read many years ago that it helps to smile while you're talking on the phone, and I'll admit I use that advice quite a bit. Every now and then I'll have a particularly aggravated customer that I can't talk off the ledge. It's rare but it happens. I take down the information and end the call as politely as I can. There's no reason everyone can't do that. There's also no reason why we can't be as congenial to the person who is helping us. Most of the time, that person is just the poor schmo who was unlucky enough to answer the phone but who are in no way implicated in the crime rendered against you. Think about that before you release your hounds. These rules apply both on the phone and in person with desk clerks, sales representatives and fast food workers. Yes, them too.
Joy: it's nearly always welcome. If you receive excellent service, care or concern you should definitely alert someone! Tell the rep that is helping you that they're awesome. Tell their manager on the way out the door. Leave a good tip. Take the survey at the end of the call. Good service deserves reward and stands as a positive reinforcement toward continuing that level of care. And don't smugly tell me that's a person's job and they should just do it anyway. We all respond to rewards and positive reinforcements. Yeah, we really are that much like pets. Oh! And it doesn't hurt to use ma'am and sir when appropriate, smile at folks you're interacting with, call people by name when you can and to say thank you.
Sadness: consider the time and place. The holidays can bring out some sadness in people, and it's also understood by many. That is no excuse to ride it roughshod over everyone you come in contact with. So you're sad you just broke up with your girl.....is that any reason to ruin our company night-out part-tay? Sad feelings, depression, anxiety and the like deserve treatment and care of your doctor and trusted loved ones. Not the toll booth operator you see everyday. Just sayin.
Disgust: a little goes a long way. A bad experience in sales or hospitality services does deserve a reprimand, but not an all-out war. I continue to be amazed at the stories you read about folks not only not tipping a food server but going so far as to leaving a nasty note explaining why. That along with the folks who ask management to fire a person. Do you really want that on your conscience? And what's with this hypersensitivity about how we wish one another well during holiday times? Smile and wish them the same and move it along! At least we're talking to each other, right?
Fear: it may be yours alone. We live in a time that is full of fear and generalized anxiety. Look at the crime! Look at the terrorism! Look at the traffic! These concerns do tend to bring out legitimate fear in many of us, but do we need to have everyone scared along with us? While it's true that there is a surge in some types of crimes during the holiday season and a healthy dose of caution may be in order, does it have to run your life? Your fears don't inflict everyone, so think about how you may be ruining someone else's good time with your fraidy cat behavior. Yeah. I said fraidy cat!
When it comes down to it, manners and courtesy are important every day but there's never a brighter light shined on them than during the holiday season. Maybe it's a forced feeling of charity or maybe we do all genuinely want to try harder, but the stress gets in the way. Either way, we all need to work on it. I've always loved the following quote which I see online quite a bit:
