If I have learned anything from the past week, it’s that my “wanting to be nice” way of approaching issues gets me nowhere! I thought the best way for me to get what I want was to say my Please and Thank Yous and not be too pushy. Apparently, this way gets you put on hold, no replies to e-mails, and promises without follow up. I can’t have this!
Every time I go into a restaurant as a customer, I try to be as sweet as can be to my server. I know how hard it can be so I try to be the easy-to-please table of the shift. I give every excuse under the sun if things are less than perfect with the service. What I fail to accept is that some people are just shitty, no matter how nice you are. I’m starting to realize that but not just with the service and hospitality industry.
I ran into this problem with my landlord. I have been dealing with this leak in my kitchen for a while now. They’ve come to “fix” it a time before but the problem has not been resolved. It actually seems to be getting worse. It’s been raining on a regular basis so maybe I’m just now noticing how bad it is. The last couple times, I’ve sent a super sweet e-mail requesting someone to come check out the problem when it’s “the most convenient.” Two weeks later, still nothing. Last weekend, we had some crazy rain that poured into the kitchen. It was just awful. As I was rummaging through my closet for towels to put down, the frustration was just building up inside me. After I managed to scotch tape (I didn’t have any duct tape) some towels to the cracks in the wall, I decided to write my angry letter to the property owner. You better believe there was no trace of an apologetic tone in this one. Next day, I came home to a “Sorry We Missed You,” note on my door from the maintenance guy. Nothing was fixed but at least someone had come by to see my tape work! I called and left a message for the maintenance guy because I want to know what he’s planning on doing and I’m getting an answer!
The other issue was with scheduling my licensing exam. The students are encouraged to take the test before we graduate. Well, we are now two weeks from graduation and I have yet to schedule my test. I’m ready but with no registration code, I can’t schedule the test. Some of my classmates have gotten their info but where was mine? I panicked. Was it a paperwork issue? Was my application possibly lost? Did they send it to the wrong e-mail? There are many things that could have gone wrong. So, obviously, I asked those in charge to contact me because I needed some reassurance. Oh, I got that reassurance wrapped up in a passive aggressive bow. I couldn’t believe it. The “nice” part of me thought that in my mental state, I could be just misinterpreting the tone but the “angry” part of me was wondering why I wasn’t getting the compassion that we’re taught to be mindful of. Since the turn over at the school is so high, they must have forgotten how to be “student-centered.” They forget that even though they have been doing this for thirty plus years, this is our very first time going through this process.
I really hope I don’t leave this school with a bad taste in my mouth. But, I know that as soon as I get everything worked out, I’ll feel better and I’ll be able to laugh about it. Until then, I’m going to be like Veruca Salt and keep demanding what I want, NOW!
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