But that’s not the main point. The main point is what happens BEFORE and AFTER the “turnaround” part. There could be some reasons that cause the person to change so drastically. For the manager’s case, it could be a scolding from the upper management which caused him to vent his anger on the subordinate. And for the husband, it could be something the wife said which he hated so much, that he poured out all those bad experiences he had accumulated over the years at once. No matter what are the causes, one question that the husband and the manager should ask is – are those causes so serious that they don’t care about the consequences?

Because after the ‘turnaround’, the consequences can be pretty bad for everyone. For the husband, it might end up in a divorce and for the manager, he could lose a very good subordinate.

So at the end of the day, is it really worth it to make such a ‘turnaround’ and pour out all your anger within that few seconds, only to regret it for many years after that? Most people never think about that. And I know it’s very difficult to think about it when you are on the edge of your sanity and you just want someone to take the ‘anger’ away for you. But for me, the consequences could be too big for me to bear. I wouldn’t want to hurt the people I care and treasure just because of my “10 seconds turnaround”.

Why regret over something that you can actually avoid?

Remember, it’s definitely easy to have the “10 seconds turnaround” and feel slightly better. But looking at how bad the consequences might be, I think I would prefer to feel worse for that short period of time, than to suffer the aftermath of my “10 seconds turnaround”.

p/s…. I call it 10 seconds and not 1 or 5 seconds because I figure if anyone can snap within 5 seconds….that person must be having some very serious emotional issues, which is in a different context altogether.

So we approached the staff on duty.

Lim (my dad) : Sorry, can you help me to see the machine. Seems to be broken.

Staff walked straight to the machine, nearly banging my dad and without a smile, without a word.

Staff : (without a smile and in a rude tone) Minimum RM 10.

Staff opened the machine with a key and brute force. And returned the RM 1 to us.

Alvin : Aiya, they should’ve placed a “min bet RM 10″ sign there.

The fella ignored me.

Lim : How can we get the RM 2 balance out?

Staff : (without a smile) You need a card.

Lim : How can we apply the card then?

Staff : (extended his hand, without a smile again) Where’s your IC?

At this point, I was completely pissed. 5 minutes later, he returned.

Alvin : Friend, what’s your name? *looks at tag*. D*****n right? Okay.

Lim : Young man, mind your attitude.

Staff : What did you just say?

Lim : I said, mind your attitude.

And after that, he became better. :T

It’s funny how such a big corporation can allow its employee(s) to be so rude. I do know that some customers are pretty screwed up and only find troubles but no matter how angry or frustrated you are, you must never vent it on the customer. Do that, you get to enjoy for a while and you might also lose your job. It’s a big NO in the service industry.

Patience is the keyword here. You can go on and curse behind the back as long as you want, but when facing the customer, you have to keep your temper in check. Call me two-face or whatever, but that is how things work in the service industry.

Sadly, in Malaysia, we do get a lot of rude customer-facing employees…..and some pretty brainless ones too.

p/s… and i approached 2 casino employees to ask something in English. They told me they cannot understand English. Hmmm….

Fact is, you can meet this kind of people (the type who don’t listen much) everywhere – in meeting, discussion, dinner, presentation, phone calls, etc. They are the type of people who will keep talking, sometimes interrupting people during the conversation. You might think that is a very rude and impolite thing to do – to interrupt others when others are talking, but it is very common and you should not be surprised if you are actually one of those people who don’t listen to others. Try asking yourself, can you pay 100% attention when others are talking? Can you refrain yourself from interrupting others? I know I can’t do that all the time and I’m trying to improve on that. What about you?

I can still remember one incident where my team leader and senior developer started arguing with each other during a technical discussion. It happened last year. The team leader started by voicing out his ideas, and the senior developer interrupted before the team lead finished. And the team leader got frustrated because the senior interrupted few times, not just once. In the end, both of them kept insisting the other to “Listen to me first!” or “Let me finish”. I sat there, stunned and finally said with a soft voice “Can we please continue with this discussion?”

That’s why listening to others is a very important skill. You need it during your conversation with others – customers, bosses, friends, family members, etc. If you cannot even give 100% attention when listening to others, then you can expect others to do the same to you.

Remember, learn to talk less, think more and LISTEN MORE. Give others the chance to finish their sentences before interrupting.

Hope it helps.