Tears of Frustration

I am baffled by the inability of people to do what they say they will do. The amount of time spent waiting to get through the automated call center, being disconnected, trying again, leaving messages, getting names, keeping a log, waiting, calling back, and so on pushes me to the brink of my sanity. When you actually speak with someone you are so happy and it all sounds perfect. "No problem, I'll take care of this today." Which I have found may mean they may actually do it correctly, the first time, today. Which I would guess this is about .01625% of the time. Although I have no statistical data to back that up. It may mean they may have the correct information but don't want to share it as it may make you unhappy. It may mean they have no intention of doing what they promised, they just want you off the line. It may mean they will try, but they have no authority to actually do what they say they will. It may mean they will put your request at the bottom of the stack because you called yesterday, and they now think you are a pest.

I worked with a man who took all of his customer's mail home in his briefcase and threw it away along with all of the messages he received during the day. This was before voice mail. I guess he would have just deleted it. It was the olden days when you got the little pink slips of paper that said, "While your were out..." Another man just stuffed his in the back of his file cabinet. When he quit, guess what his managers found? But every day I would listen to both of them tell the customers they were on it, they would take care of it today, it was in the mail. Not possible, all the information was essentially in the trash.

I am back again to the truth issue. Just tell me the real deal. I might not like it, but at least my expectations will be real. No, I don't like the fact that I will only get 2/3 of my salary while I am out on medical leave, but I like it less since I was told I would get 100 percent. I only knew I would get 2/3 after the check I had been requesting for three weeks finally arrived. Then I spent the day on the phone getting the truth. Oh yeah, the deception was really easy for me to let go. Ha. My dog didn't understand my tears and crying noises. She wanted to make it all better. I asked her to get the additional 1/3 of my salary. She made no promises, but nuzzled my leg. I can live with that.

So, do what you say you will do. Tell the whole story, not just what you think the customer wants to hear. The truth comes out in the end.