An interpersonal communication problem I came across was a complaint case phone call during my internship experience. As I was working in a community centre, the office phone is often busy with calls. Being an intern in the programs department (where we plan and execute events), I was not trained to handle complaint calls and often direct them to the full-timers. However, this happened on one fine day where there were multiple ongoing
events and hence, I was the only one left in the office together with my Indian colleague.
The phone
rang, I picked it up. It was from a lady who called to complain about her neighbor.
As I was not taught how to handle such cases since they belong to the residents’ committee
team, I decided to direct the call to my Indian colleague. A while later, she returned the call to me as the resident do not
understand English and could only speak Mandarin.
The entire ranting session began as soon as I took over the call. The lady went
on and on to complain about her dispute with a neighbor whom she has a conflict
with for several years. At first, I was sympathetic to hear her story and suggested
that she go for a neighbors' mediation session or escalate her case to the MP.
Despite offering her solutions, she kept saying that she had
tried lots of methods but to no avail. She was inconsolable and fearful of her neighbor
as he seemed like a bully. Being untrained on how to resolve such situations, I
could only listen to her and try to appease her that I will do my best in
helping her by escalating the case to my superior.
At that point in time, I had work to do and yet I was on the phone with the lady for almost an hour. When the call finally ended, I felt so relieved as my hands were cramping up from
holding the phone for so long. Even after that day, I was so afraid that the lady might call
back and ask for me.
Up till now, I wonder. If this situation happens again,
could I have handled this case differently? How could I calm her down asap and end the call nicely so I could return to my work?
Hi Szemin,
ReplyDeleteThis is a very clear and concise description of a interpersonal communication. I can totally relate to what you went through as I share the same experience onboard. I had to console an angry passenger because my colleague upset her badly. However, at that point of time, I was running my meal service onboard and could not give her as much attention as I wanted to!
I feel that you have handled the situation appropriately by attempting to appease her while listening to what she has to say. I've been taught on what to say or how to excuse myself from such situations. Based on what I know, other than letting her know you understand how she is feeling and her situation, you can tell her that you have work to do, but because you love to hear more from her, you would like her to visit your office so that you can talk to her in person and learn more about it face to face.
In actual fact, it is just hanging up of the phone and hoping that she never turns up at your office. HAHAHAHA. I thought that was a way as people may find it troublesome to go all the way to your office just to talk about it.
With your soft and nurturing voice, I'm sure she'd feel soothed to know that someone really cares!
Regards,
Glenda
Hi Glenda,
DeleteThank your for helpful suggestions. Yes, I do agree with your suggestion that I should have tell her that I have work to do (or maybe find an excuse that I have to be somewhere else...oops). Yup, if she do come by the office, I might be able to seek help from my colleagues who may be around at that time.
P/S: Thank you for your compliment (I'm not sure if I really do have a soft and nurturing voice HAHA)
Cheers,
Sze Min
Thanks, Sze Min, for sharing this interesting scenario. You do provide quite a clear explanation, but it would have helped me to know what the work context is. Also, I'm not certain what your job scope was. Explaining that would make this situation clearer.
ReplyDeleteGiven what you have explained, Glenda seems to do a good job giving you advice. You empathized enough with the lady to listen to her for an hour. Probably suggesting that she could stop by the office would have been helpful, for her and you.
In any case, I appreciate your sharing!
Dear Brad,
ReplyDeleteI have edited my post to include my work context. I hope the revised post will give you a better understanding of my job scope and make the situation clearer. Thank you.
Regards,
Sze Min
Thanks, Sze Min. This is clearer now.
DeleteThinking back on what has happened that day, I could recall the mixed feelings I had for the lady. Despite feeling sympathetic towards her plight, I felt helpless as I was unable to help her solve her problem. Halfway through the call, I started getting tired of talking to her and grew anxious to end the call. While reflecting on what has happened, I believe that I could have handled this situation better.
ReplyDeleteAs what Glenda and Brad has suggested, one thing I could do is to truthfully tell the lady that I have work to do and invite her to the office so as to talk to her in person, face to face. By doing so, the lady could have understand that I have pending workload and may not want to impose on me further by ending the call. Also, if she really come down to the office, I could listen to her and emphatise with her better. If I am still unable to help her, I would be able to seek my colleagues' help then.
Therefore, in this case, I could apply the collaborating mode that I learned from the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument. By collaborating with the lady by letting each other understand the concerns we have, it could be a win-win situation for both of us. That way, not only could I help her solve her problem more efficiently when she comes to the office, I would be able to concentrate on my work for the time being.
All in all, I believe that proper communication and management of situation would help in avoid and solve all sorts of interpersonal problems.
Thank you for taking the time to read my reflection post! (:
Thank you, Sze Min, for this detailed debrief! I appreciate the way you've reflected and synthesized what you've read and what your readers have suggested. Great effort!
ReplyDelete