Jun 10

Written by:
6/10/2011 1:44 PM 

When we last left our heroine, she was crying and having a minor emotional crisis. Let’s check in on her to see her progress…

I’m done crying.  This week we’re talking anger.  Now, before you all start assuming that with these wild emotional swings I should consider pharmaceutical prophylaxis, don’t worry…I have see my physician recently and I am OKAY.   None of you reading this can honestly sit there and say that you have not been in my shoes at one point in your life, right?  I am using this forum to vent.  It’s therapeutic.

 

I am angry over rudeness.  I have found that I’m pretty intolerant of the times where I believe people cannot see past their own noses to see how their actions, words, and attitudes really can be hurtful to the people around them.  Case in point:

 

My oldest daughter informed me that the school she attends was requesting more financial documentation for her financial aid.  I found it odd that they were requesting this for her but not for her brother, who attends the same institution.  So, I began to dig into things a bit to see if there was a logical reason why the discrepancy.  To my horror, I was unable to access my son’s FAFSA information online.  Being that I work for the Federal Government, I thought I would call up one of my esteemed colleagues over at the FAFSA office and see if we couldn’t figure out a solution to the problem.  I was grossly mistaken.  The woman I ended up talking to was rude, to say the least.  She proceeded to inform me that she couldn’t tell me anything about his FAFSA, due to privacy issues and that his PIN had been disabled.  Not only that, she did not have the time to discuss it with me.  I was stunned.  I tried a different approach.  I asked what some options were for us to get this processed quickly, as it had been originally filed several months ago.  She said I had no options.  Finally, I asked if she could at least verify that an application was received, she flatly said, “No, and the student will have to ask for a new PIN to be able to re-apply for financial aid.  That will take up to three days.  I can only talk to the student.  It’s a privacy issue.”  Every ounce of me wanted to tell her that being in the medical field and in the government gave me a very clear understanding not only of PRIVACY but of CUSTOMER SERVICE as well—something she clearly did not understand herself.  She started closing the call with the standard, “Is there anything else I can help you with today?”  This is when I lost my temper.  I said, “Really?  You have hardly been of any help up until this point, so how could you possibly be of MORE help?” and I hung up on her.   

 

I don’t lose my temper easily.  In some ways I regret losing it this time, as it really didn’t make the situation any better.  More than likely that woman never gave me a second thought after I hung up on her.  On the other hand, I am still irritated by it two days later. Rudeness is one of my pet peeves.  I am also irritated by crumbs left on the counter, and being accused of things that I haven’t done.  When someone promises to call but doesn’t follow through, I don’t usually get angry. However, when that same person doesn’t apologize or offer an explanation later on, that’s another story.  That, to me, is inconsiderate. (OK...Let me add here...I am NOT directing these statements toward anyone in particular.  These are just things that I get angry over.  Although maybe the "crumbs" comment is directed toward my kids...maybe...)

 

I wonder, though, how often I am guilty of these same things that I get angry with other people over.  Life gets busy.  Kids need attention.  Jobs are overwhelming. Stress happens. Do I fall back on these things as excuses for not looking at how my actions and words may affect those around me?  

 

I’m not going to excuse the attitude of the FAFSA woman. I still think she was out of line.  But I am going to try to remember her the next time I become buried in my own stuff  and am tempted to think, “I don’t have time for you” about the people that come into  my life.