I've messed up and I don't know what to do

Evilm

Faith177 wrote: »

This has really shook me and up and I have already said I will do anything to rectify the situation. I am thinking things through already and have a few things to start implementing straight away.

The conversations they are talking about are conducted over a phone. The people I have to get a decision from including the one I was asked about are based in an office some 40 miles away we actually see them in person maybe once every 3-4 months for about 10 mins.

I am not the only one that refers to external callers as stupid ect others do too. I know this is not an excuse and I shouldn't do things that others do ect but just so you know I'm not the only one who does it. It is the nature of the queries that we deal with that some leave you more frustrated than others.

I probably haven't made this clear enough but when I have called people stupid it has never been about people I work with only external companies I know this again is not an excuse but I don't want people thinking I bully my workmates cause I really don't

I've actually had the other side of this issue at work: A very loud colleague starting a discussion when I happened to already be on an external phone call. Very soon lots of swear words and other non-professional comments were being said. I could actually tell the person on the other end could actually hear him - my caller was pausing as and when the colleague was at his worst. I couldn't hang up, had no way to signal for the colleagues about the issue, and could only hope that my caller could only hear a general noise and not the actual words being used.

So whilst you may not have done anything directly to enable external contacts to hear bad comments about them or other customers etc. However that doesn't mean external contacts didn't hear it! (I actually reported the incident to my manager and now make phone calls when that guy isn't around btw!)

Well done for taking their comments on board - hopefully they will give you a chance to improve.

Savvy_Sue

Faith177 wrote: »

You don't know the nature of my work, you don't in what context I was calling someone stupid or why I called them that. It was not a colleague as I would never say something like that about someone I work with.

So, it's OK to call someone stupid as long as it's not a colleague you work with? Where IS the confused smiley when you need it ...

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

Is it ever appropriate for a conversation where you swear and call people stupid to be made in front of colleagues at a volume where they can overhear what you've said?

I can't see that it is, myself.

I've been in situations where co-workers have given people outside the organisation nicknames, eg "Jane with no brain" and "Jane the sane" to distinguish "Jane X" from "Jane Y" - although I'd like to stress it wasn't a Jane! I asked people NOT to do this, because you really don't want to have "Oh yes, Jane with no brain" trip off your tongue when Jane X phones up ... and I've come close to that!!!

It's a question of habit. If you're in the habit of calling some people stupid, you run the risk of doing that at an inappropriate time or at an audible volume. If you're in the habit of swearing, ditto. Consequently I bite my tongue in the office ...

Faith177

This is what I'm going to have to learn to do quickly. It is going to be tough but I know it is what I need to do

ohreally

Faith177 - develop a more mature and professional outlook at work and join a trade union as I suspect you may need representation at some point in the future.

It isn't acceptable to refer to individuals as stupid, I'm not sure why you felt this was fine.