People that first meet me can take my factual abrupt statements as a personal attack. It’s my disemination mode. I try to let people ease into how I interface with them. I will spew out data as requested to people when i’m extremely busy at work. I can’t always take the time to add polite conversation. This is not a personal dislike of you, it’s a time constrant on me. Five people wanting something in ten minutes.
I will glady carry on a polite conversation with you when the above is not happening. I don’t hate you and don’t want to be that way with you.
Phobia,
You sound just like a co-worker of mine. I know her outside of work and she is the kindest person there is. At work, however, she is abrupt almost to the point of rude. People dislike her because of it and it’s a shame. She’s a great girl but I kinda wish she would learn to be a little more patient and conversational. Alas, she can’t due to the demand on her, and it’s probobly the same for you. Take heart- her real friends understand and don’t mind at all
Zette: I have been impressed by the effort you put into answering posts. You spend the time to answer posts that take some time and effort. I just wanted you to know. You have a good humorous side.
This is not an online crush, so don’t worry I won’t stalk you. I’m refering to the recent topics on board.
In my office, I frequently have people from my own and other departments asking questions (at the same time!). The solution I’ve found is to answer the urgent questions first, often curtly, and move on to the next problem. When time permits, I go back to the earlier questioners to make sure they understood the answer and don’t need further assistance.
Sometimes the brusque manner gives people the wrong impression, but, as Zette and Byz have said, people usually understand. Especially if you try a little humor. When I’ve got people waiting, I’ll usually announce “Next!” or even "Now serving number . . . "
I know you understand what you heard me say, but what you don’t understand is what I said is not necessarily what I meant.
I know how it is, Phobia. I have to deal with it every day. I even have people trying to ask me questions when I’m on the phone (and especially when I’m on the phone with a customer–when I don’t want to have to interrupt the person who is paying my salary to answer stupid questions like “How come I can’t open my email program?”*) or when I’m walking back to my desk after having gotten up to get information/paperwork (with a person on hold) and the person gets mad at me when I tell tham I have someone on hold and I’ll come back and hear their question in a minute.
*To which the answer is “I don’t know. Call the MIS people, that’s their job, not mine.”
Kat, as an MIS person let me say, “It worked when I gave it to them. ;)”
FWIW, I think that the problem is quite widespread in todays technologically driven work environment. People need information and have grown to expect that it will be delivered to them instantaneously. They also expect you to do it with a smile and have time left over for small talk. “Oh yes, please tell me what your kitten did last night. The person on the other end of my phone doesn’t mind and I really have nothing else going on now that I’ve answered your question.” hmmmm. ** [ /bitterness ] **
Whew, that’s better. OTOH, as annoying as I find such interactions, I find it is vital to my job that I interact with customers and co-workers. Not only does it CAUTION – buzzwords to follow facillitate teamwork and long-term planning. It also helps me de-stress when the demands of the dataflow get out of hand. Besides, did I tell you about the cute thing my dog did . . .
The best lack all conviction
The worst are full of passionate intensity
I actually tell people, “You’re third, It’ll be twenty five minutes, maybe more.”
I hear my name called out twenty times an hour, at work. I get phone calls from people asking bizarre questions, and requesting advice on things unrelated to any aspect of anyone’s job. Beats me why they don’t just look it up. It would be faster, if it is just one of those simple things they should have looked up, because I demote them to next every time anything more important comes up. Oddly enough, sometimes they are still waiting an hour later, when I get around to whatever it was they asked. I am always really happy when I can honestly say, “I have absolutely no idea.”
My roommate called me once, and wanted to know how to cook a hard-boiled egg. Three people were in the office, and never even turned an eyelash as I gave the recipe for hard-boiled eggs over the phone. (She was first, after all.) Some times I leave people one-word answers on sticky notes, on their desks, for stuff I did not have an answer for, during the day. (I do tend to be late leaving work.) The odd part is that my real job, the thing I am paid for by our employer, has very little to do with answering questions.
I have a boss, who when we under pressure for a deadline *(meaning Im doing the work, he is stressing) stands over me asking, are you done yet, and trying to find ways to needle me. For the most part its all in fun but with 15 other people biting at me at the same time, Ive been known to be short and abrasive in my answers, kick people out of the office, or just bluntly tell people to fuck right off. They all know when these stressful times are and know that I am not normally like that because when its time to have fun, Im right in the middle of it.
We are, each of us angels with only one wing;
and we can only fly by
embracing one another
Yeah, it happens to me all the time. You can take comfort from the fact that eventually all your victims will conspire against you and get you fired. That’s just the way the game is played between us and them.
Update on my question-answering gripes: I estimate I spent about 3 hours of an 8.5 hour workday answering questions today. (Many of these questions are from people who have worked there longer than I have BTW.)
Anyway, you think they would learn. This is how the typical question-and-answer thing goes: X calls me over to his desk and asks the question. I reach over and pick up whichever manual/book/binder has the answer (his copy of it–we all have the same ones at our desks), find the answer in it and show it to him. Many people would think the next time he has a question about the same (whatever it was), he’d pick up that manual and look for the answer in it. I know better.
