Today, there was a complaint against me. A very unfair one for sure. My phone, the one in my office, is out of order. I had called for the technicians and they have been trying to fix it for two days now. So anyone who needs to talk to me, has to (most reluctantly) walk up to my room, bear with the pain of knocking my door and enter to tell me how useless they feel. There was a call at the main reception and the office boy had to transfer it to me as nobody had arrived as yet. I was the earliest (over-efficient) one at work today. Obviously, he forgot that I had no telephone in my room. The call was held for a maximum of two minutes and I was informed by then. I ran to attend the call and heard an angry (sexy) voice of an elderly woman with an accent. I tried to speak to her calmly but she was really mad for (apparently) being kept on hold for two whole minutes. After the call was disconnected, I walked back to my room thinking that I should not be mad at the way the lady spoke to me because she could have been upset herself (over a bad hair color that she chose for herself). I also thought that I spoke to her the right way in return because 'I'm not used to taking crap like that'. And then I sat down on my desk to think for a while over how cool I was.
My boss arrived and I was called to his room. In a laughing manner, he said to me: 'Somebody filed a complaint against you at the Police Station!' I understood and we both started laughing hard together. But I could see from his facial expressions that he was seeking an explanation as well. I told him the whole thing and he told me that the lady had called him and said that I was rude to her as I had asked her this particularly abominable question. It was: 'Do you know where you're calling?'
HaHa! Well, Guilty as charged. I had asked her that question! According to that lady, the way I had asked it too was extremely excruciating and that no one had spoken to her in that manner in her (goddamn) 'whole life'! I started laughing again. Now, exactly why I had asked that question is because she was being really mean to me for the reason that she had waited on hold for so long (honestly two minutes!). Also, I had asked her that particular question because she had not asked for my name or designation and hadn't even told me who she was. I had thought that she was babbling and babbling and not coming to the point, so maybe she has the wrong number or so. It seemed as if she was calling some freakin customer service. Thus, my innocent and painful question.
Then I got to know that she was a dignified officer at a money-minting position in an organization. Alriiiiggghhhhtt!! So that's the issue. There was the bug. I caught it! Milady was expecting salutations on the phone from me. Right. I am such an insolent pup! She was one of the Champions of our Nation! The ones who work day and night so we could sleep peacefully without the terror of a suicide bomber in the neighborhood. She was amongst those who serve our country and the civilians wholeheartedly and never ask for an extra penny (rishwat). She was amongst those who are feeding (robbing) the poor and building schools to provide them with education (instead of building an 8 canals house in Defence Housing Authority). Their children are studying hard in foreign institutions so they could become like them one day and serve the nation in future (instead of enjoying parties, drugs, orgies).
I am such a fool! I should have asked her first if she would like some tea, coffee or Jam-e-shiri. Even if we were on the phone. I should have solved her problem right there and then, instead of saying that I was not the concerned person she wanted to speak to. How could I leave her discontented like that. I should have said to her that if I would not be able to handle her problem, I would send her ten kg Mittai (sweets) at her personal residence. I should have told her that I work only to get her approval.
I should have stood up for the Champion!
Alas, I didn't do that. I'll be extra careful next time, you know. Even if it does not come under my job description to attend calls. I'll be sure to tell such a man/woman that: 'I DON'T GIVE A SHIT TO YOUR PROBLEMS!'
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