Low Expectations

Everyone has a customer service story. It's a tough job. Eight hours a day, they only talk to people who have a problem or complaint. Working for a busy service, they may hear hundreds of complaints (some legitimate, some not), gripes, lies, and curse words a week. It's a tough job, and I'm surprised there aren't MORE horror stories of representatives who've had enough and snapped on a customer. Knowing the person on the phone may have just been called every name in the book, and a few that aren't in the book by the previous caller, I try to have some grace and kindness to the people on the other side of the phone when I have to call. That being said, some bring it on themselves. Like anyone else in the industry, some people are just bad at their jobs.

I had to call my internet provider because my service was terrible. Speed tests showed that I had slow internet by 1996 AOL dial-up standards. I called to have someone check it out, and when I told the representative the issue, I was told, "Well, you should be thankful you have internet. Some people live in places where they can't even get internet." I was dumbfounded. While it was true, I should be thankful for the blessing of the internet, I pay an exorbitant amount of money each month for a service I was not getting. I was not ungrateful, I simply wanted what I paid for.

 

I thought of that when I read an article by Micheline Maynard in the Washington Post suggesting Americans need to "lower their expectations." We are spoiled by fast delivers, fast food, and products on the shelves. The article was a bit of a political spin. Don't blame the people in charge or expect services you pay for. Lower your expectations. There's been a lot of commentary on that piece, but the funny thing is, the principle of what she said wasn't wrong. Americans have had it good for a long time. I have a box on the wall that with the push of a button, my house stays the temperature I prefer, no matter what the weather is outside. With the internet (as slow as it is) I have access to untold amounts of information at my fingertips. I can have a conversation with my wife about what we want for supper, not will we eat supper. I have it good now, but it's likely going to get tough. Thanksgiving is around the corner, and it's possible what we want isn't on the shelf or the price is so high we just can't afford what's there. Being thankful for what I have doesn't mean I must be blind to how we got here. I can both blame people in charge for their unmatched incompetence and be thankful for what I have. I can recognize God's judgment on idolatrous ungrateful people and blame foolish people for making foolish decisions that brought about the crisis.