Suffering fools
My standard 9 (11th grade) teacher perceptively wrote in one of my report cards: "Bronwyn does not suffer fools gladly." I recount this mostly as a confession, because the truth is that 16 years later, this is still true of me.
I hope I am more gracious now than I was in 11th grade, but there is still much work to be done. This week I was crying with frustration about an altercation with one of the staff in our apartment complex. I was, quite literally, spitting mad. This is about the 4th or 5th frustrating conversation I have had with her where I voice a complaint, and she responds in such a way that shows that she did not at all understand what I was asking. What makes it worse is that her responses are not only ignorant, but delivered dismissively and patronizingly.
I don't know what has me more upset: that as a resident, my complaints are not heard and my questions not answered. That this woman scolds me condescendingly and unprofessionally when actually SHE is the one in the wrong. But mostly... I think I'm upset because I'm 31 years old and I feel like I should be above getting SO angry and frustrated about one silly office worker. I'm upset with myself for being so ungracious.
I hope I am more gracious now than I was in 11th grade, but there is still much work to be done. This week I was crying with frustration about an altercation with one of the staff in our apartment complex. I was, quite literally, spitting mad. This is about the 4th or 5th frustrating conversation I have had with her where I voice a complaint, and she responds in such a way that shows that she did not at all understand what I was asking. What makes it worse is that her responses are not only ignorant, but delivered dismissively and patronizingly.
I don't know what has me more upset: that as a resident, my complaints are not heard and my questions not answered. That this woman scolds me condescendingly and unprofessionally when actually SHE is the one in the wrong. But mostly... I think I'm upset because I'm 31 years old and I feel like I should be above getting SO angry and frustrated about one silly office worker. I'm upset with myself for being so ungracious.
posted by Bronwyn at 10:56 am
2 Comments:
Maybe the fact that I feel like the suffering fool--foolish for suffering, but suffering nonetheles!-- in this situation with our apartment management, says something about my own spiteful heart toward being treated like a child. I think I could abide so much more of the nanny-ish choices the management makes if they would just talk to me like I am an ADULT who is paying them over a THOUSAND dollars a month for the pleasure of living in THEIR apartments! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!
That was my tantrum. Now I am done.
I think.
I also don't think some of the management decisions that the complex makes are the brightest or in favor of the residents. Yet at the same time I haven't felt that I had been treated badly by the staff (some have a hard time understanding the issues at times or at least resign themselves to not being able to do anything about lots of things and can be a bit lazy). And I guess I still think that the Tandem management (as a whole) is probably the still the best apartment management that I've ever had to deal with(other than my parents, but they don't really count do they). But then again, I've lived in lots of places, including expensive run down Berkeley and overseas. Maybe it is having the unique perspective of being a landlady's daughter has given me more compassion and patience for rental property managers/staff.
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