From cranky to cappuccino
Yesterday I visited a client who wasn't happy at all.
The guys at the office, who book my jobs, told me about it beforehand. They explained that her house inspection had been rescheduled twice because colleagues of mine had called in sick.
Now I was there to clean up the mess.
It all started out tense, to say the least, which I totally get. I would have been annoyed too, having my plans interrupted because the house inspector didn't show up.
One thing to keep in mind in situations like these, which anyone with a service kind of job knows, is that you're not really seen as a person at first. You're the company logo on your clothes. You're a brand, and that brand is to blame for all the mess.
If you take it personally, you're doomed. If you take into consideration what's going on, that it's not really you as a person that's targeted, you're off to a good start.
I explained that I was aware of what'd happened with the previous appointments. Adding that the office had assigned the inspection to me last minute, which was true.
Half an hour passed. Still tense, but a little bit better. After an hour, we started talking about things that weren't really related to the reason for me being there. After 90 minutes, which is the time I get on these jobs, she asked if I wanted a homemade cappuccino.
I had two, and stayed for two hours. The coffee was delicious and we had a really nice chat. A true Swedish fika moment.
All thanks to not taking things personally.