A recent encounter I had brought to light the importance of effective communication. It also demonstrated how easily a simple problem can become complex when we use an ‘inflexible’ style of communication. The incident happened at the local post office between two sales associates and me. A few weeks ago, I signed up for a P.O. Box for my company. As is often the case, I misplaced the receipt a few days later. Several hours of searching the house was unsuccessful and I finally admitted defeat.
So off I went to the post office. I told the two associates my dilemma and that I needed another receipt for income tax purposes. The sales associates were not impressed. I was met with comments like: “We don’t that”, “we don’t just randomly print receipts”, and “it’s the customer’s responsibility to take care of their receipt after the purchase”. I wasn’t too happy either. I replied with comments like: “How complicated can it be to print a receipt?” and “why can’t you just give me something in writing?”. Read more »