I have noticed that there are workers here who are exceptional when dealing with the general public. They are outgoing and friendly. I enjoy talking with people and trying to understand their perspective and see the Town from their shoes. I am going to try to spend dome time with these very talented workers during my internship.
One of the people works as the Constituent Services Coordinator. She is the person who fields all of the communications from citizens to the Town. These communications come in the form of in person, Email, and phone calls. They can cover any topic about the Town from water quality to the Police and everything in between. Often times when you see people who are customer service reps you think of the people who work at the DMV. I have always had the DMV worker who looked like they just wanted to go home. One unique thing about our staff is that they do not seem to be “Burnt out”. Each case to them is a new challenge and opportunity to have a citizen satisfied with the Town.
I offer this for discussion, are you one of those types who loves to work with the general public? Do you have that drive to be extra friendly and tolerable to people with criticism for your organization? How would you recommend that I learn the secrets of this skill from our current staff?
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Personally I hate people, I'm not one of those overly friendly people and have a lot of respect for people that and have to always be because their job depends on it. I worked in real estate for a large home builder before going back to school and watching how the heads of the company would talk and handle problems was amazing and i have learned so much from working with them. So, i think the best way to learn is to jump into the deep end. Ask to shadow them, work with them on project. Goodluck
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ashley. It would be advantageous to shadow a couple of them for a day or so. I would also urge you to ask questions that elicit why they get excited about and what speaks to them with regards to each individual project.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy interacting with people. I believe that the more I interact with people, the more I learn about life in general (the different perspectives, cultures, challenges, solutions, etc.). Consequently, I become a better person for it. Thus, if I am able to help another person's life a little better (given that they solicit my assistance), then all the better for everyone.
However, I do believe that acceptance and patience are two virtues imperative for a person to possess in order to be succeed and find fulfillment in this line of human interaction. Acceptance and patience with the place that other people are at in their time of need. Just because I may not perceive their challenge or need, does not mean that it doesn't meaningfully exist for them. And, both perspectives are equally meaningful and valid in their own way.