when things go wrong

September 20, 2007 by Mary Wynne-Wynter 

Two stories resonated with me today. One is about a popular marketing blogger who is out of his mind dealing with a Comcast phone installation: Comcast Must Die: Chapter 4. The other is about an obsessed D.C. judge and his $67 million lawsuit against a neighborhood dry cleaner that he claims lost his pants in 2005: Pants Update: The Dry Cleaners Shuts Down

Frustration is everywhere. I recently went through numerous Comcast truck rolls for broadband phone and finally realized it was futile – they couldn’t get it done, and nobody could figure out the glitch. Tomorrow I go back to the Apple genius bar for iPhone #3 because both #1 and #2 dropped 90% of the calls I make from my home/office (I’d already disconnected my landline and had to get it turned back on.) Everyone I talk to has several current or ongoing customer service or technology horror stories to share. We’re all dependent on our technology to run our businesses and have to fight to not get screwed over…right?

Well, I’m beginning to think that we habitually “make it up” that this is the way things are, and we fixate on the problem and the customer service people who can’t resolve it. I’m seeing that that the more we fight and yell and retaliate, the tighter we bind ourselves to continuing technical difficulties, service problems, stress and suffering. It drains our time, resources and energy.

That’s why its important to be vigilant (the “V” in D.R.I.V.E.) about how to respond to these problems, and vigilant about observing what are the payoffs we get and tradeoffs we make when we continually draw battle lines in the sand and become fixated on things that don’t go right.

I’m finding that vigilance is not about accepting less. Its about suffering less when I shift my awareness about the independent professional life that I choose. And that choice includes dealing with technical challenges and customer service folks who sometimes can’t (or won’t) help me. Suddenly, I’ll realize that I’m enjoying the satisfaction I get from finding my own innovative solutions and sharing that learning with others. I’ll also get a sense that I’m aligning with ease and assistance for me and my business when I’m a respectful customer, whatever the conditions of a particular customer service interaction.

And most importantly, resolve to be alert to the unexpected, and often bigger and better things, that inevitably show up as a result of a shift in belief and commitment to self-leadership as the better response to “when things go wrong”.

Filed under: Consciousness, career, going solo
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