A little patients (patience) required

Over the years I’ve worked in a lot of different places. Offices, schools, customer service jobs… you name it. And like anyone who’s worked with the public, I’ve had my fair share of rude encounters. But nothing — and I mean nothing — prepared me for the time I worked for a healthcare information and claims processing company.

This was a remote, call-center type of job. Our entire day consisted of helping doctor’s offices and clinics process insurance claims, fix submission errors, and walk them through whatever problem they were having with the system. Sounds simple enough, right? Well.

Let me just say something I learned very quickly.

Some of the rudest people I have ever encountered in my life were the nurses and doctor’s office assistants calling about those claims. And here’s the thing — I get it. Healthcare offices are busy. They’re stressed. They’re dealing with patients, paperwork, insurance companies, and a million other things all at once. But apparently, when someone picks up the phone to call a support line, a strange transformation can occur. People become very brave over the phone. Suddenly the tone changes. The patience disappears. And somehow the person on the other end of the line — the one actually trying to help them — becomes the enemy.

What’s funny is I can’t even tell you one specific story about it. Because it wasn’t just one moment. It was every single day. Every day there was at least one person calling in already frustrated, already irritated, and ready to unload on whoever answered the phone. Meanwhile, I’m sitting there thinking, “Ma’am… I promise you I didn’t personally deny your claim. I just answer the phone.”

The wildest part about working in a call center is realizing how much easier it is for people to forget there’s a real human being on the other end of that line. When you can’t see someone’s face, it’s a lot easier to be rude. But here’s the truth. Whether it’s a cashier, a drive-thru worker, or a call center agent trying to fix your insurance claim — the person helping you is just doing their job. And sometimes they’re the only reason your problem is getting solved at all.

So maybe next time we’re frustrated and picking up the phone, we take a second to remember there’s another human being on the other end of that call. Because courage over the phone doesn’t make anyone right. It just makes them louder.

Dude… Don’t Be Rude!