Employee of a client calls me, absolutely furious.
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Employee of a client calls me, absolutely furious. She has just arrived at the office and her laptop will not connect to the wifi. Clearly this network is broken. I suggest a couple of tests, like checking whether the network shows up (it does not) and trying a cable connection (nothing happens). So I timidly suggest checking whether there is actually power in the office, since there is construction going on. Boom. No power. She then asks me where the switch is to turn it back on. I have no idea, of course. Their electrical system is not exactly my responsibility. She snaps at me, asks why they even pay me, and hangs up with enough force that I can almost feel it.
I grin, although slightly annoyed. Luckily the people who work with her are nothing like that.
Half an hour later she calls again, apologizing deeply for how she treated me. She tells me she had a very rough night and even shares the details. Nearly thirty minutes on the phone, venting. Out of respect I will not retell anything, but she really should have stayed home today. She deserved it. She just did not want to tell her managers because she feared they would think she only wanted a longer weekend after yesterday’s holiday.
But her managers are not fools, and they immediately sent her home to rest and take care of her loved ones.
Too often honest people like her pay the price for those who act sly or arrogant. It is not fair, but the smart ones can tell the difference. Not always, but quite often.
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Employee of a client calls me, absolutely furious. She has just arrived at the office and her laptop will not connect to the wifi. Clearly this network is broken. I suggest a couple of tests, like checking whether the network shows up (it does not) and trying a cable connection (nothing happens). So I timidly suggest checking whether there is actually power in the office, since there is construction going on. Boom. No power. She then asks me where the switch is to turn it back on. I have no idea, of course. Their electrical system is not exactly my responsibility. She snaps at me, asks why they even pay me, and hangs up with enough force that I can almost feel it.
I grin, although slightly annoyed. Luckily the people who work with her are nothing like that.
Half an hour later she calls again, apologizing deeply for how she treated me. She tells me she had a very rough night and even shares the details. Nearly thirty minutes on the phone, venting. Out of respect I will not retell anything, but she really should have stayed home today. She deserved it. She just did not want to tell her managers because she feared they would think she only wanted a longer weekend after yesterday’s holiday.
But her managers are not fools, and they immediately sent her home to rest and take care of her loved ones.
Too often honest people like her pay the price for those who act sly or arrogant. It is not fair, but the smart ones can tell the difference. Not always, but quite often.
@stefano it is a wonderful thing when someone has the humility abd common decency to phone and apologise. It was also wonderful you took the time to be an ear for her woes - it probably meant more to her than you could imagine.
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@stefano it is a wonderful thing when someone has the humility abd common decency to phone and apologise. It was also wonderful you took the time to be an ear for her woes - it probably meant more to her than you could imagine.
@EF I appreciated that she wanted to call back to apologise. And yes, we are all human. As AI becomes more present in our lives, this human touch matters even more.
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Employee of a client calls me, absolutely furious. She has just arrived at the office and her laptop will not connect to the wifi. Clearly this network is broken. I suggest a couple of tests, like checking whether the network shows up (it does not) and trying a cable connection (nothing happens). So I timidly suggest checking whether there is actually power in the office, since there is construction going on. Boom. No power. She then asks me where the switch is to turn it back on. I have no idea, of course. Their electrical system is not exactly my responsibility. She snaps at me, asks why they even pay me, and hangs up with enough force that I can almost feel it.
I grin, although slightly annoyed. Luckily the people who work with her are nothing like that.
Half an hour later she calls again, apologizing deeply for how she treated me. She tells me she had a very rough night and even shares the details. Nearly thirty minutes on the phone, venting. Out of respect I will not retell anything, but she really should have stayed home today. She deserved it. She just did not want to tell her managers because she feared they would think she only wanted a longer weekend after yesterday’s holiday.
But her managers are not fools, and they immediately sent her home to rest and take care of her loved ones.
Too often honest people like her pay the price for those who act sly or arrogant. It is not fair, but the smart ones can tell the difference. Not always, but quite often.
@stefano they say be nice to strangers, because you never know if someone is having a bad day. That's exactly what you did, she wasn't nice to you, but you stayed respectful and found out later she was having a very bad day.
If I were in your position, I would have stayed professional on the phone, but I would have lost my temper after the call. I think you showed a lot of emotional strength today.
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Employee of a client calls me, absolutely furious. She has just arrived at the office and her laptop will not connect to the wifi. Clearly this network is broken. I suggest a couple of tests, like checking whether the network shows up (it does not) and trying a cable connection (nothing happens). So I timidly suggest checking whether there is actually power in the office, since there is construction going on. Boom. No power. She then asks me where the switch is to turn it back on. I have no idea, of course. Their electrical system is not exactly my responsibility. She snaps at me, asks why they even pay me, and hangs up with enough force that I can almost feel it.
I grin, although slightly annoyed. Luckily the people who work with her are nothing like that.
Half an hour later she calls again, apologizing deeply for how she treated me. She tells me she had a very rough night and even shares the details. Nearly thirty minutes on the phone, venting. Out of respect I will not retell anything, but she really should have stayed home today. She deserved it. She just did not want to tell her managers because she feared they would think she only wanted a longer weekend after yesterday’s holiday.
But her managers are not fools, and they immediately sent her home to rest and take care of her loved ones.
Too often honest people like her pay the price for those who act sly or arrogant. It is not fair, but the smart ones can tell the difference. Not always, but quite often.
She then asks me where the switch is to turn it back on. I have no idea, of course.
Of course, as you do computer stuff, anything regarding cables is your expertise and responsability. Been there.
Anyway, as others have already said, this story says something good about the human quality of this person that, after realising their tantrum was inappropriate, called back and apoligized. Even more so if they're going through something.
We live in a very stressing world.
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She then asks me where the switch is to turn it back on. I have no idea, of course.
Of course, as you do computer stuff, anything regarding cables is your expertise and responsability. Been there.
Anyway, as others have already said, this story says something good about the human quality of this person that, after realising their tantrum was inappropriate, called back and apoligized. Even more so if they're going through something.
We live in a very stressing world.@angel true. Stress is overwhelming, at times
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@stefano they say be nice to strangers, because you never know if someone is having a bad day. That's exactly what you did, she wasn't nice to you, but you stayed respectful and found out later she was having a very bad day.
If I were in your position, I would have stayed professional on the phone, but I would have lost my temper after the call. I think you showed a lot of emotional strength today.
@clf thank you. I'm old enough to know that people are often aggressive because they're fighting their own battle.
Sometimes, they're just bad people. -
Employee of a client calls me, absolutely furious. She has just arrived at the office and her laptop will not connect to the wifi. Clearly this network is broken. I suggest a couple of tests, like checking whether the network shows up (it does not) and trying a cable connection (nothing happens). So I timidly suggest checking whether there is actually power in the office, since there is construction going on. Boom. No power. She then asks me where the switch is to turn it back on. I have no idea, of course. Their electrical system is not exactly my responsibility. She snaps at me, asks why they even pay me, and hangs up with enough force that I can almost feel it.
I grin, although slightly annoyed. Luckily the people who work with her are nothing like that.
Half an hour later she calls again, apologizing deeply for how she treated me. She tells me she had a very rough night and even shares the details. Nearly thirty minutes on the phone, venting. Out of respect I will not retell anything, but she really should have stayed home today. She deserved it. She just did not want to tell her managers because she feared they would think she only wanted a longer weekend after yesterday’s holiday.
But her managers are not fools, and they immediately sent her home to rest and take care of her loved ones.
Too often honest people like her pay the price for those who act sly or arrogant. It is not fair, but the smart ones can tell the difference. Not always, but quite often.
This post is deleted!
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