Page 74 - Talane Miedaner - Coach Yourself to a New Career_ 7 Steps to Reinventing Your Professional Life (2010)

62 COACH YOURSELF TO A NEW CAREER

surrounded by criticism and negativity on a regular basis at home
or at work. Even if it isn’t personal, it just isn’t acceptable for any-
one to yell at you. Period.
When I worked at Chase Manhattan, I was taught that good
customer service meant allowing irate customers to vent their
frustration and anger and then offering them assistance. During
my six years in retail banking, I listened to customers complain
and yell every day. I was drained and exhausted at the end of
each shift. A good day was one in which no one was upset—but
people didn’t often come into the bank if everything was OK.
Were customers’ reasons for being upset valid? Most often, yes,
they were. Nevertheless, that didn’t mean that as an employee,
I had to be their sponge. This was a revelation to me, and to be
honest, I was doubtful about whether boundaries could really
work with the bank’s customers. After all, the customer is always
right.
To experiment, I put in place the basic boundary “People can’t
yell at me,” and of course, I was tested that very day. From my
office at the back, I could hear a man yelling at my customer ser-
vice representative. I immediately thought, “Here goes.” I walked
out to the counter, where I saw that the source of the disturbance
was a fortyish man reeking of alcohol. I approached him and in
a neutral tone of voice said, “Do you realize you are yelling?” He
was immediately flustered and, still yelling, said, “Of course. I’m
not mad at you, though; I’m mad at the bank.” “I understand,” I
said, “and you are still yelling. I ask that you stop yelling now so
that we can help you.” He mumbled something and walked to the
teller window to conduct his business. When he had completed
his transaction, he went back to the customer service desk and
apologized for his behavior. Then he came to me and apologized
as well. He left the bank a happy customer, and as far as I know, he
never yelled in our branch again. It worked! And if it could work
on an inebriated, belligerent stranger, then it could work on just
about anybody.
I taught my entire staff the four-step model for installing
boundaries and told them I would back them up as long as they