Whatever happened to being nice to people? Whatever happened to respecting one another? Whatever happened to doing right for the sake of doing right? Nowadays, it seems like people need a reason to be nice to someone else. And for some people, they need a REALLY good reason. For instance, at my job, I am compensated for how "friendly" I am to clients. Unfortunately, my clients are not rewarded for returning this gesture. Thus, often, they are not the most friendly when it comes to telephone etiquette. There have been times that I have had a mind to tell people what they can do with their accounts. However, because I value AND appreciate my job, I try to treat the clients with the utmost respect, fitted for any human being.

My question is, "Is it too much to ask for the same treatment?" I don't think it is too much to ask. Many of the clients take it personally when I ask them questions to verify their identity. It's not that I don't trust them. But I am speaking to them over a telephone (not in person). How do I know they are who they say they are? I really don't know unless I ask them personal questions. Some clients even act like I am going to use their personal information for evil. What they fail to realize is that I DO NOT CARE about their personal information. I don't care how old they are. I don't care what their telephone number is. And I really don't care about any of the financial details of their records. As a matter of fact, it is my job to ignore this type of information and treat each client with the same OUTSTANDING level of quality, personal service expected of my institution.

The client neglects to see this, however, and usually comes back with attitude, aggression, resitance and even anger. It truly is a "hard knock" life for us. Some clients are worse than others. It seems like the older the client is, the less patient the client is. I spoke to my parents about this. They seemed to be in agreeance that the older they get, the shorter their patience becomes. I asked them, "Please try to THINK before you speak." Think about who you are speaking to. Is it that person's fault that you have the problem you have? Or is it somehow the fault of someone neither party knows personally?

That leads me to another problem. At my work place, it seems as if the representatives answering the telephones are being "sacrificed" to the clients. The behind the scenes workers mess everything up, but do not have to face the client. I'm stuck handling the irrate client who has forgotten that we are both adult human beings, not children, and not animals. Many of the difficulties I face, now, are the direct result of someone's negligence. Someone hasn't sent out the correct paper work. Or someone hasn't mailed a check like they said they would.

And then again, I'm stuck with the client who has unmet expectations. Some clients just automatically assume that if a check is mailed today, it should be in their hands tomorrow. No countries postal system is that great, especially ours.

What a day?!? They really don't pay me enough to put up with this. What can you do though? I'm stuck for right now. There are bills that MUST be paid. You have to do what you have to do (with a smile). So, that's where I stand. I'm smiling. I'm not sure what tomorrow holds. For right now, I have a job. And it's a good job. It's more than what some people have. I'm grateful.

~Kevin J.