Let me talk to the boss!

Each day the lovely veterinary technicians at our practice call all of the clients from the previous day to see how they are doing after their vaccinations or surgical procedures. They politely call each one and listen to the owner’s reports, answering questions as they arise. It is usually a somewhat pleasant exercise.  Clients are often friendly, appreciative, and grateful for the fact that we care enough to call them for a progress report.

 

Not so on Friday.

On Friday I was working in the pharmacy area (where the call-back phone is located), getting ready to enter an exam room when I heard my technician Samantha making a follow-up call.  The gentleman had been in with his dog on Thursday for a routine annual examination and vaccines with one of the doctors.  When the client answered, Sam politely said, “Hello, this is Sam from Warren Woods Veterinary Hospital and I was calling to see how Fritz is doing after his vaccination appointment yesterday.”  What happened next was so fascinating that I had to stop what I was doing to listen to Sam’s side of the call. 

She repeated the entire sentence again but a little bit louder.  “This is Sam from Warren Woods, I was calling about Fritz, to see how he is doing after yesterday’s visit.”  Then, “Yes, I can hear you, can you hear me?” she said politely.  Then again in an even louder voice, “This is Sam from…………., perhaps I should call you again on another line.”  Sam kept getting louder and the gentleman kept telling her to speak louder.  After about the fifth or sixth time she repeated herself, each time upping the volume saying, “I am sorry, I cannot speak any louder, but I would be happy to call you back on a different line, if you like.”  “I AM SORRY but I CANNOT get any LOUDER, maybe we have a bad connection.”  Then she paused and said, “Of course, let me place you on hold for a moment so I can get her for you.”  She placed the phone on hold, looked at me with desperation in her eyes - as the rest of the team, now very interested looked on - and said: “He wants to speak to the boss because he said that I am very rude.”   

I could only laugh out loud and the absurdity of her situation.  I had heard the whole conversation and Sam was not rude at all.  In fact, she is one of the sweetest most patient people I know.  She was indeed talking very loudly, but not rude.  Hilarious!

So, what do you do when someone falsely accuses you of being rude or handling them (or their pet) in an unsatisfactory manner; especially when you know that you are in the right?  Our first instinct is to fight back.  Our natural reaction is to go into defense or fight mode; the automatic response - our fight or flight reaction.  The problem is that you can’t run away from your clients, so flight is off the table.

When someone falsely accuses you, stay calm and keep a positive mindset.  Getting upset or fighting has no place in this conversation. Give up the idea of being right.  There is no right or wrong, there is only understanding. If you become agitated or defensive you will not be able to diffuse or remedy the situation. 

Assume that what the client is telling you is true - to them - and try to understand why it is true.  Once you understand where they are coming from you can move into solution mode.  Agree on the facts of the situation and in this case the fact was that the client could not hear Sam properly.  No fault of Sam, but the client needed to know that her intentions were honorable because she just wanted to check on his dog.  Once we got past the confusion and moved to understanding, we were able to agree that the phone connection was the problem, not our sweet Samantha. 

“Seek first to understand and then to be understood.”     

Stephen R. Covey

Dr. Julie Cappel

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