The "Excuse Chart" Inspired me!

[bluegreysky]

I wouldn't do something to my hubby like the excuse chart couple did to each other, even IF we had serious problems every day.
However, I was thinking about the concept
And lately I've been thinking about my job... like I was saying in the thread about how I don't get tore up over an elderly bank customer's death, my job at a bank does indeed cause me to interact mostly with older folks. When I say "older" I don't mean all "old" I mean "older than me". Age groups 30's-50's I do fine. Even 60's... in fact my mentor appointed to me by my church is 60 and she's really sweet.
But above that bracket- so later 60's-80's- I struggle.
Mostly it's because I've always had this flaw in my thinking where
I let one bad incident = a dark cloud over the whole day.
And it seems like with an older crowd, I get more of the crabby ones who can't be impressed no matter how hard I try. lol.
I've had off days with all age groups though.
So below is a cross section of yesterday.
It was a slow day.
I'm not counting drive-through on here, nor the lobby customers who the other tellers had to work with.
Just mine.
Notice on paper most of them were ok. or just passive.
Only one was real irritable.

So why does that one sometimes make me feel like "work is always hard"?

 

[Inkachu]

That is absolutely fascinating and fun to read, BGS! LOL I love it.

It's not uncommon or abnormal for one bad experience (like with a customer) to cast a cloud over the whole day. Especially if you're a sensitive soul, like I'm guessing you are. I am as well. I can handle minor crabbies without much trouble, but if there's a real meltdown or something really awful goes on, it can upset me deeply for a long time. I don't think we're weird, I think we're just empathetic and tender-hearted.

 

[ValleyGal]

One thing to remember is that crabby people make more of a negative impact on us than the nice people make a positive impact. Iow, when you go home at the end of the day, you are more likely to remember, and be influenced by, the crabby 70 year old than you are to be influenced by the nice passive 70 year old.

The other thing to remember is that people who are getting up into their 60s and 70s and beyond, are quite often dealing with very stressful situations like aging, becoming more dependent on others, more likely to lose people they love, more aches, pains and age-related health issues, issues with housing, and some with finances as they retire from the workforce, and issues with accessing healthcare or other necessary services, etc. Some of them are very lonely. So it's easy to see how some of them get cranky.

Dealing with the public on a daily basis is certainly a challenging job. So many people, all with their own "stuff" and having to deal politely with everyone in spite of their stuff. I worked with the general public for about 10 years after high school, and that was enough for me. It's stressful.

 

[dysert]

I've heard it said that for 1 bad experience, you need 10 good experiences just to get back to break-even. (Unfortunately for me, I think I need more like 100 good experiences -- and even at that I might still stew on the bad experience for a long time.)

 

[bluegreysky]

oh is it like that whole "it takes more muscles to frown than to smile" concept?

Yesterday wasn't actually one of the days with the cloud though surprisingly.
That one lady was yelling at all of us- the loan officer for her "incompitence" (it was a computer glitch)
me for "taking too long" and the bank in general for "being a failure".
It wasn't even our fault. It was an issue with the branch over in Texas that issued the CD in the first place.
The lady with 9 savings bonds... well that is a tricky process because you can't just cash them like checks,
you have to fill in alot of hand written and computerized info, then there's paperwork to sign and copy and you have to mail them out to a special place through a special carrier...
but the woman turning them in had 1) warned our boss she'd be in that day 2) was easy going and fairly cheery even though her mom died 3) was as fascinated as I was with what these things were redeeming for since they were really really old. I see a savings bond every now and then and its usually from the 80's. These were from the 50's and 40's. There's a declaration I had to sign on the back stating my name, my title and the date and it said "on this day of _______, in the month of _______, 19_____" Like the gov't didn't even realize there was a "2000" anything... lol

 

[.chrys.]

The other thing to remember is that people who are getting up into their 60s and 70s and beyond, are quite often dealing with very stressful situations like aging, becoming more dependent on others, more likely to lose people they love, more aches, pains and age-related health issues, issues with housing, and some with finances as they retire from the workforce, and issues with accessing healthcare or other necessary services, etc. Some of them are very lonely. So it's easy to see how some of them get cranky.

This is so important for people to remember! Another thing is that their thought processes are slower. It's hard to understand, but our brains start to slow down once we hit 25! Think of how much longer it would take a 90 year old to understand something.

I have three grandparents in their 90's. They lived through the Great Depression, WWI and WWII--think of all the inventions they didn't have growing up and now have to understand how all these computers do everything. It's so hard for them. A little compassion goes a long way.

 

[Inkachu]

Excellent advice, Chrys, not just for BGS, but all of us. A smile, a pause, a genuine willingness to listen, can go faaaaaar in customer service!

 

[Thunder Peel]

I know how that goes. I can have the best day of my life but if one person flips me off in traffic or I forget to do something important it will instantly kill the day for me. I guess I'm too sensitive...or not sensitive enough...or something.

 

[bluegreysky]

Do you actually look like Fry?


Hah There are some older folks I've gotten used to them or somehow in some way I can't explain,
they've endeared themselves somewhat like the one I listed who loves us on the chart.
There are others that just ….. rub me the wrong way. Sometimes not even intentionally.
There's a few middle aged customers who do the same.
Most of them are men. What does that mean?

 

[akmom]

That you're a man hater. J/K

 

[bluegreysky]

But I'm MARRIED to a MAN. and I love him more than fat kid loves cake.