Does it say “mind-reading” in my job description?
Aug 2nd, 2007 by Louisa
This is a letter to all of you who interact with human resources and / or service personnel on a regular basis.
Dear “General Public”,
I know that you look to me to answer all of your questions, no matter how inane they might be. I answer the phone, give you directions, and try to speed you on your way (with or without your assistance). However, one skill I have not yet developed is mind-reading. Therefore, the following statements are inacceptable as forms of communication.
- “Is John working tonight?” [Who is John? There are many Johns in the world. Which one do you want?]
- “Where is my class?” [Again, there are many classes. Or gas stations. Or books. Are you starting to get the idea?]
- “You should be able to do that faster.” [Has it ever occurred to you that you have not supplied me with all the necessary information, and that I am now trying to find said information before I can deal with your request?]
- *general grumblings about something outside my control* [I am no longer in tech support, so please do not yell at me and / or chew me out for something I had nothing to do with.]
And in the spirit of listing, here are some things which you, the General Public, could do to make life easier for all involved.
- Be nice to us. It’s amazing how being nice makes everything go so much better. We might even apologize for things which aren’t our fault, just because you’re being nice to us.
- Give us specific information. We have already seen that requests which are too general not only sound stupid, but will not result in you getting the information you want.
- Stop complaining. It doesn’t have any productive results, and is frankly quite annoying and off-putting. If you do need to complain, apologize afterward with an “I’m sorry, I’m just frustrated.” Good, now that we’re both frustrated, we can just move on.
- Say “thank you”. We might be more inclined to be pleasant if you grace the conversation with simple courtesies.
Thank you,
All Those Who Work with the “General Public”
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