Ever feel like a heel?

I do today at work some poor gal who has a plate for (darn i forgot but something bad) she wanted the battery changed in her smoke detector anywho we cant page for that per the clients instructions..

She screamed..yelled..hollered..cried....

I felt horrible

I don't really know what you mean, sweetie but remember that you work on an after hours phone line of some sort? I empathize as I did something similiar once and it feels awful to be powerless

yeah its an answering service. we get yelled at ALOT and sometimes you want to help you really do..but hands are tied.

You must be pretty tough to deal with that!, if someone was yelling at me all the time (no matter if I knew them or not)..it would make me sad

It does make me sad. I have a good system to vent to in steve though. This job is getting super stressfull. but i have my kitties at home

I always feel bad for people that have to deal with angry people like that everyday, so I try to be that one to be cheerful and go with the flow of things. They always seem to appreciate that and I appreciate that they tend to try harder to help me.

Sorry that you had a bad expierence with that angry person. I hope that you have a better day with happy people.

Thanks guys. I always have angry people. LOL

but your comments, and this one gal who called on the cable account made me feel better.

people on the cable account are ALWAYS MAD..

she was upset but she cheerfully stated it was not my fault so she would not yell at me. I said thank you i appreciate that really, and she said well your sweet and your welcome and i will yell at a head honco on monday lol

what do you mean a heel?

umm....roughly like a peice of dirt

i'm so confused! Sorry!

It is just a term...saying I feel like a heel means I feel like I was mean and couldn't help someone when I should have been able to help.


If it is a weekend or after hours, it seems like the lady could have waited. I work at a mental health outpatient clinic, and I get a lot of frustrated people calling. Even if it is their fault..ex missed two doctor's appts, ran out of medication 2 days ago....I still feel bad if I can't help them.

But I am learning to set some limits. I read a sign somewhere that said "just because you waited too long to ask for help, doesn't make it my emergency". I need that in my office REALLY BAD!

Wow. I like that one. I like that one alot. I alwats get irrated at people who call and yell at me about medications when the dr doesnt do refills our hands our tied! we are the after hours...but they dont care. well i dont know about them. but i sure can see when my meds are running low..

Originally Posted by ScamperFarms

It does make me sad. I have a good system to vent to in steve though. This job is getting super stressfull. but i have my kitties at home

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you have us here!

Originally Posted by ScamperFarms

Wow. I like that one. I like that one alot. I alwats get irrated at people who call and yell at me about medications when the dr doesnt do refills our hands our tied! we are the after hours...but they dont care. well i dont know about them. but i sure can see when my meds are running low..

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Don't I know it. I always try to be nice, and do my best to help people out...but I love the refill messages I get (as a nurse at a clinic). "I just noticed that I took my last pill this morning." What, you didn't notice 2 days ago that you had 2 pills left?

Or the people who wait til late Friday, when all the docs are gone, and say they overtook their medicine, or lost it, etc. Funny thing is, it is usually the kind of medicine that is often abused!

The other thing I've learned, is people will call and rip into the secretaries, then be real nice to me, the nurse, thinking I am the one to sweet-talk. If I hear about them abusing the receptionist, I ask them to apologize, or have my boss call them to set them straight. (We work with a lot of difficult people, but try not to let ourselves be abused.)

It helps me to remember that we are not doing anyone any favors to teach them to verbally abuse us to get their way. Those inappropriate coping skills don't help at all in the "real" world. If someone is over the line with you, the doc may find it helpful to know about it.

thanks guys. And I agree becki the only bad thing is. the way my job is. they do not really allow US to talk back to them. We have to tell them the same thing over and over. and lately the Supervisors dont seem to want to take calls..

Originally Posted by Beckiboo

It is just a term...saying I feel like a heel means I feel like I was mean and couldn't help someone when I should have been able to help.

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Ok thanks for that!

Oh gosh, I could not have a job, where people are yelling at me all day long! I am WAY too thin-skinned, and not "heel material"!!
Hope you have a MUCH better day tomorrow!

Originally Posted by Missy&SpikesMom

Oh gosh, I could not have a job, where people are yelling at me all day long! I am WAY too thin-skinned, and not "heel material"!!

Hope you have a MUCH better day tomorrow!

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Same here although not thin-skinned I would however rip them a new one I would be fired the first day.

Yep things will get better for ya.

Originally Posted by ScamperFarms

thanks guys. And I agree becki the only bad thing is. the way my job is. they do not really allow US to talk back to them. We have to tell them the same thing over and over. and lately the Supervisors dont seem to want to take calls..

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And I have to be polite, too. It sure wouldn't be good to have a psychiatric patient yelled at by the nurse. But I do find it real helpful when dealing with difficult people, to remember that they created the problem, not me. But I try real hard to make my reaction the same, as far as calling the doc, etc, whether the person is nice or rude.

And repeating the same thing is an actual technique, called the broken record. Some people are just wanting to pick a fight with you, and it deflates the argument to say, "Yes ma'am, I understand. But I cannot page a tech to replace a battery. I suggest you call in the morning." She replies, "But I could die in a fire!" "Yes Ma'am. I cannot page a tech to replace a battery. I suggest you call in the morning."

My boss is great at this. He can talk to someone who is fuming for 30 minutes, and not have said anything! LOL!