blah day being neutralized by smidgens of Choose Your Attitude moments....
Today started off in a rather icky way. I had an unwelcome realization of sorts (which was trigged by thinking about Brokeback Mountain), and thinking about that made put me in a dark cloudy mood. Work was also stressful this morning, as we were shortstaffed and people seemed to be in a very pissy mood. It was a huge challenge not to let myself get drowned by the negative energy. I was feeling all emotional and stuff earlier in the day, and it was hard for me to focus.
However, I feel that I am learning how to choose my attitude somewhat successfully, as I had two customer interactions which turned out better (simply by my not focusing on the negative). The first call was a password reset request from a new Chinese researcher. When the customer was unable to understand her new password being spelled out to her phonetically, I decided to ask her if there was someone else in her department with whom I could speak with. Instead of berating the customer for her lack of English skills or becoming extremely frustrated at the situation (which I would have felt maybe six months ago), I decided to take a deep breath and find an intermediary for help. It worked out better to explain to the head of her lab that "I think we're having a 'Lost In Translation' moment...." With the help of her lab director, we were able to get her up and running, and I felt so better about how the call turned out.
Later in the afternoon, I had an icky Excel usage call (which I didn't know the solution to off top of my head). I generally have an aversion to fielding Microshaft Office calls. But instead of becoming frustrated with not knowing the answer right away, I decided to call the customer back after doing a quick research. I found the solution, and the customer was up and running. I received an email from her later on thanking me for my help--I responded back, thanking *her* for the opportunity for me to learn a thing or two.
Yin and Yang. Tin and Tang. That has been my day in a nutshell so far. I can still use a Girl Drink later in the evening though.
Current Hair Product: Paul Mitchell Elastic Shaping Paste
Current Boxed Lunch: pumpkin and potato pancakes; Field Roast smoked sage apple vegan sausages; Brown Cow maple yogurt
However, I feel that I am learning how to choose my attitude somewhat successfully, as I had two customer interactions which turned out better (simply by my not focusing on the negative). The first call was a password reset request from a new Chinese researcher. When the customer was unable to understand her new password being spelled out to her phonetically, I decided to ask her if there was someone else in her department with whom I could speak with. Instead of berating the customer for her lack of English skills or becoming extremely frustrated at the situation (which I would have felt maybe six months ago), I decided to take a deep breath and find an intermediary for help. It worked out better to explain to the head of her lab that "I think we're having a 'Lost In Translation' moment...." With the help of her lab director, we were able to get her up and running, and I felt so better about how the call turned out.
Later in the afternoon, I had an icky Excel usage call (which I didn't know the solution to off top of my head). I generally have an aversion to fielding Microshaft Office calls. But instead of becoming frustrated with not knowing the answer right away, I decided to call the customer back after doing a quick research. I found the solution, and the customer was up and running. I received an email from her later on thanking me for my help--I responded back, thanking *her* for the opportunity for me to learn a thing or two.
Yin and Yang. Tin and Tang. That has been my day in a nutshell so far. I can still use a Girl Drink later in the evening though.
Current Hair Product: Paul Mitchell Elastic Shaping Paste
Current Boxed Lunch: pumpkin and potato pancakes; Field Roast smoked sage apple vegan sausages; Brown Cow maple yogurt