florencefiftySenior Contributor
GRRRRRRR....
Grr and Brr, in fact.
How do you cope with anger?
I've found myself getting angry at work. Not lashing out at customers, of course, but just frustrated. My computer system asks me to log in like twenty times a day, it feels like.
For some reason customers can't hear me. I ask a question and they say "huh?" and then you have to repeat yourself. I can't tell you how many times I've asked people for their plate number, and they give me their phone number. That could go on all day. I'm speaking plain English. There's nothing more I can do.
I had a day recently which has been making me see red since it happened.
I had someone call me saying that they were experiencing vulnerability. The customer's wife called saying that he couldn't pay his bill, because he was taking care of her full-time, she had a harsh episode of cystic fibrosis. They were wondering if I could extend the deadline.
To do that, you have to call a different department. The problem is, the person there hates her job. Sometimes she's great to deal with, and sometimes she acts like you're inconveniencing her by existing. I explained the situation. I was on the verge of tears, and she had absolutely no sympathy. She didn't even acknowledge the issue.
Just because they forgot about it, that's not extenuating circumstances.
That really annoyed me, because I had to break that news to the caller. She was lovely about it, but it really rattled me. I never want to deal with this woman again, but I have to.
Then I got an evaluation which was so harsh, I got a worse score than half the guys get in FOUR MONTHS.
Again, someone called on behalf of her husband to pay a bill. The customer said that the name on the credit card was Vanessa [same surname]. I apparently did the wrong thing by assuming that Vanessa was his wife's name. COME ON. It's a woman with the same surname. Of course that's his wife's name. No, it's his evil half-sister.
My teammates were trying to get me to forget about it. It's just feedback, really. I have been so angry I've been losing sleep over it.
I know that's not normal. How do you manage your anger?