Dealing With Adult Toddlers
Posted: Thursday, April 12, 2007
by Judy Fox
Just recently, I had a conversation with a friend who told me about having witnessed an employee at a popular parcel/mail store being verbally harassed by customer after customer. He marveled at the calm the employee maintained with each of the exchanges and wondered how someone in such a position managed to get out of bed each day and show up for work, knowing that they would likely experience similar situations on a regular basis.
The difficulty comes when there is no solution - and sometimes there is not (at least not one anyone would wish for.) A good customer service person understands that the customer is upset, and can usually deal with that.
What most people cannot deal with...nor should...in my opinion, is the occasional idiot customer....the one who acts like a two year old in a grown body - complete with tantrum throwing and name calling. Do you recall the airline that recently removed a family from a plane before departing, when their little precious would not obey them and get in a seat? The parents were held responsible (as they should have been) for not being able to control their child.
What do you do when an adult is incapable of controlling himself/herself? It's one thing to be annoyed and irritable - it's totally another to throw a tantrum. The answer, disappointingly, is that there is nothing you can do to "make" an adult realize their immaturity and stop behaving poorly (inside the bounds of the law.) No words; no eyerolls; no sighs...these simply do not work.
There are grown adults out there who have no idea that they are idiots. Telling them they are such does not effect a change. It's up to the rest of us to try and make the world a better place by refusing to conduct ourselves in such a manner. Be courteous and respectful, even if you are irritated....it goes a long way towards making up for the surprisingly large number of adult toddlers out there who can and do make people miserable on a daily basis.
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)I was a bartender for 10 yrs. Now I am a associate at Sears. I thought that the intelligence or conduct of the customer would be easier to deal with in sales. How wrong was I? These give me, give me and give me more idiotic (I am lucky nobody has shot me yet) customers dont have an excuse for their actions, words or personality. Great article. It is a challenge to go to work every day and not look at any customer as a potential problem. It is unfortunate that these people exist. What to do? B.Foster.
Judy, you're so right and your suggestion is so right on! We can be better people to make up for the 'adult toddlers' who are downright rude and idiotic! Excellent article. Now, write more! Please? I've read everything you've submitted!! I enjoy your writing style very much. :)OK, thanks to you and your encouragement, I've now written another two articles. Thank you so much for the positive response and encouragement. It came at a time when I badly needed it.
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