Twenty-two days ago, I placed an order for a device upgrade. I used an earlier version. I believed in the promise of what the improved device will do for me. After waiting a few days for a confirmation, I started to ask about my order. For more than three weeks, I listened to platitudes and cliches, but no actual action or information.
As I reflect with increasing frustration with the situation and response to the service representatives, I wonder how to escalate my case. After trying several options, I am now back to the spot where I was at the beginning. While I know a bit more, I am still looking for more.
There are several situations unfolding in my life where I play the role of the service rep. Candidly, I want my clients and stakeholders to feel good. In response to their follow-ups, I apologize for the delays and unintended failure to meet their expectations, filling my correspondence with platitudes and cliches. From where I sit now, I understand and appreciate their need for more.
As I consider satisfied stakeholders and those left wanting, the following lessons stand out.
If there is an opportunity to close out an ask, seize the moment while taking the larger picture into consideration. There are two threads I find myself embracing. I need to respond and act. While overlapping, there is a nuance to the situation. Note the psalmist’s observation about how Divinity “protects strangers, takes the side of orphans and widows, but makes short work of the wicked.” (Psalm 146.9).
In many situations, the need to respond was not triggered by anything one did. Life has a larger story and context. It may feel personal, but it is not. When one looks at it from another view, one has an opportunity to make things better for another. The starting point is to not make things worse. The heart is a question. What will you do with the opportunities you have to bring care, kindness, and compassion to those around you?
Action and response tell our heart’s story.
