Im glad i listened on...

In our line of work, there are times when we meet one or 2 customers who will pour out their hearts and sorrow to the counter staff. Sure, as part of the GEM protocol, "Go-the-extra-mile" protocol, indeed we should hear the customers out.

Sometimes, my colleagues will lament that they are not paid to consol the public and worst of all these people take up too much of their time resulting in them being unable to finish their work. I also feel that at times we are just not equipped with the right counselling skills. Over time, without proper management of the staff's expectation, the staff will only grow to loathe these troublesome customers (who are usually homeless folks and senior citizens). This may sound really cruel but due to over-prolonged exposure to them, it is hard to sympathize with these customers because one thing is.. their problems are never ending.

Last week i encountered one such customer. She was a single woman in her late 50s. She brought several english letters to the office and she needed help to translate them. I was at the counter and i rendered help to her. It was'nt before long that she began pouring out her story to me. She was staying in a 2-rm rented flat. Her rental mate had passed away and by HDB's regulation, she had to find a new rental mate within a deadline or else she will be evicted. It was a sad story but there was nothing i could do. I advised her to go to the Meet the People Session.

She continued to pour her story to me. 30minutes had passed. My colleague back in the office sensed that something was wrong and they called my mobile phone. So i excused myself from the customer and ran to my desk to pick up my phone. When i got back to the office, my colleagues said they were trying to get me out of the situation by making me leave her. However, i reasoned that since it's already 30 minutes, i doubted that she had any more strength to continue. So i returned to the front desk again to listen to her. Oh gosh, she continued with much gusto and fire.

I glanced at the clock, 45 minutes have passed. Thie time round, my colleague wanted to rescue me again. She hovered to the front desk and remarked loudly to the customer, "Hey Andrew, your dinner is turning cold. You want to eat it first?". Again the customer did not budge and continued confiding in me. I felt that i was so helpless. It was only at 10pm, that my colleague made an announcement to announce the closure of the CC that the customer stood up and decided to end her talk. At that moment i heaved a sign of relief. Just when i was ready to head back to my desk to pack up, the customer held my hands and she commented, "Thank god, someone hear me out today. Or else, i would have jumped down the flat tonight"... With tears of gratitude in her eyes, she left the CC.

Oh Jesus, at that moment, a cold chill went down my spine. It was hard to get a hold of myself. Hmm i was so glad that i stayed on and listened to her despite several rescue efforts by my colleagues. I strongly belived that it was Abba who made me stay and listened to the customer. The power of hearing is so powerful.... I also realized that technically, no harm was done to me by listening to her. I did not lose a piece of flesh or something. I was glad i listened on...