We’ve all had to do it at some point in our lives and we often dread doing it. And it usually happens when it’s most inconvenient to us. Something readily relied upon suddenly isn’t working quite right or maybe it’s downright broken and we’re forced to contact a technical support desk for help. But what happens all too often during that phone call is an expenditure of our anger and impatience at a person that is only trying to do their job.
A very long time ago, in a galaxy far away, I was one of those technical support staff at a small firm that handled check processing for convenience stores. This company that I was employed at had various computer equipment that was placed in each of those stores. Part of my job description at that time was to troubleshoot issues that occurred in the field with that equipment. Sometimes the people that called for help had no technical background and asked me things such as where to find “the anykey” when the computer prompted them to “press any key”. And other times I had to help people even understand what a mouse was. But there was one time I remember a frantic guy calling me as he was trying to get his system working. He kept screaming at me that his screen was blank and he didn’t let me get a word in edgewise. When I finally did, I discovered his computer wasn’t even turned on and that was how simple that call got resolved. Most of the problems I ever had in resolving any customer issue was due to them being unable to remain patient and talk in a clear manner while I tried to dissect what was going on. The name calling, swearing, and rude behaviors that often arose with impatient consumers never helped. In fact, it worked the opposite by blocking my ability to fix their problem quickly and efficiently.
Most people today have such little patience with anything, especially when it comes to something they readily rely upon that suddenly isn’t working the way they need it to be working. So sadly, before even that person dials some technical support desk, they are already very tense and ready to do battle over their issue. And with much of the technical support for things today being in other countries such as India, accents can create a communication barrier and further complicate the issue with more stress and tension. But what most people forget when they call any place for technical support, is that there is a human being with a heart and soul on the other end who is just trying to do their job by offering their help.
Ironically, this morning I had a technical issue with a new e-mail address that I set up in iCloud. The whole phone call from beginning to end took more than an hour. But throughout it all, I remained very patient and understanding and had an extremely pleasant phone call the entire time. I finally did get everything working with only a minor glitch that a support ticket had to be opened on. The best part about it though was that at no time before, during, or after did I lose my cool, nor did I ever falsely blame or accuse the people helping me for any of the minor inconveniences I had.
I’m glad I’m not part of any technical support desk these days though because the stress levels can be extremely high in those types of jobs. I do my best today to respect when I’m talking to one of them because I was once in their shoes too. I also try to remember that those people have a heart and soul and their own life conditions to deal with. As devastating as it may sound, the person I’m talking to could have just tragically lost a loved one or had some other terrible thing happen in their life. Yet they are still trying to do their job by helping me and that thought usually makes any of my issue seem a lot more trivial which often will give me a lot more patience too.
If you have to make a technical support phone call today, try to take a moment today and take a deep breath before you do so. Realize that your kindness and patience will lead you to getting your issue resolved much easier. But most importantly, don’t forget you are also dealing with one of God’s children who has a heart and soul just like you.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson