Problem Solvers

Those who know me, know I can be a bit "high-strung"; easily triggered at times of frustration. Especially when it comes to those who should know what they are selling, before they are allowed to present themselves as professionals.

There are two businesses that I have, in the past, refused to deal with. They both live or die under my husbands control. Insurances and AT&T. However, it seems as if I am getting thrown into the arena of dealing with both, of late. Where's my coffee?

The most recent, was with AT&T. When it comes to our wireless connections, I would rather go to the local brick and mortar store and not deal with using the device to work out a solution to the problem. Why? Because you never know what language you will have to decipher, making it very difficult to understand what is being said...asking for a repeat way too often. One can expect to be weeding through the dialog, as best they can, for at least an hour and a half, ending the conversation with no solution at all. Granted, it's mostly my fault because my patience beings to run on empty by the time I've said, "I'm really sorry, but I have no idea what you just said. Would you mind repeating that?" for the fifth time.

This time around, I was grumbling more than I should have because my online presence was completely messed up; wiped out mostly, with having no access for online bill pay. I couldn't see the actual bill, nor could I see the recent changes that had been made to our wireless account. Our connected plans had disappeared all together.  

But this story is not about that (mainly); but about professionals in the workplace. It seems to be such a rare thing these days, that employees take the time to look at you, or even act as if they really care you are there. Yesterday was different. The first thing upon entering the building, we were both met with a smile, eye contact, and "welcome to AT&T". Even though that first contact was with another couple, working through whatever they were there for, he acknowledged our presence, letting us know they knew we were there. This is exactly what is needed in any business doing business.

In less than a heartbeat, another employee was on her feet, coming our way. Excellent! First step to getting my blood pressure under control...and causing me to think we could possibly get this fixed, once and for all. I would be able to navigate our online presence, again. I had brought my laptop with me, so I could show them exactly what was happening. I seriously don't like using small devises (iPhones), to do business on. And, I figured if they could see what I saw, the problem would be solved much easier than me trying to explain the issue. I had already tried that. Twice. By addressing it on my phone. All that created was more anxiety, which ended with me hanging up on the last poor guy, after the third time answering the same question. I knew a visit to the brick and mortar store was in my future. 

Sooooo...I guess this is a shout out to our local AT&T store on Walnut Street in Cary, NC. Thanks to Christalyn (second contact) and her Assistant Manager (third contact...wish I could remember his name...such a great guy), we were able to walk out with our problem resolved, having been dealt with by kind professionalism. I had no doubt the Assistant Manager knew the answer to our dilemma, because of the confidence he extended by looking at me while I spoke. There was no looking away, no head down, no fiddling with other things while he listened. Just clear eye contact. There was an immediate disarming when met with this very obvious solution-knowledge individual. He was there for one purpose. To fix that which was broken. And the only way one can get there is to first listen to the why, and then proceed with attentiveness. You can always tell when someone is listening to what you are saying, and when they clearly, are not. Yesterday, we hit the jackpot of professionalism. And now my life has meaning...*wink *wink

Loving true and honest connections, here you will find me...in Mary's World.