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Criticizing Coworkers
Heavy work loads, inexperienced personnel,
unfamiliar situations, and carelessness all lead to the
likelihood of errors, which you must correct at some
later date. If you seldom make a mistake, you may have
a problem understanding why other personnel
frequently do.
When you find a mistake while helping a customer,
resist the temptation to “sound off” to the customer
about the person who made the mistake. Such action
gains nothing; correcting the error requires the same
amount of effort whether or not you express your
feelings. Instead, simply explain when and where the
mistake was made, and then take steps to correct it. Most
customers will forget their annoyance once they
understand the problem and know that it will be
corrected.
Criticizing Policies, Procedures, and
Instructions
If you disagree with official Navy policy, command
policy, or divisional procedures or instructions, resist the
temptation to criticize them to your customers. You
don’t have to agree with all of them, but you must follow
them. Discussing them among your coworkers may lead
to a better understanding of policy. It may also result in
positive changes, such as a more efficient procedure or
a better flow of information, that improve your ability
to help the customer. Discussing them with your
customer, however, serves no helpful purpose.
When a customer’s request is denied because of
current policy or regulations, frustration or resentment
is a natural reaction. If you express your disapproval or
criticism of this policy or regulation, it increases the
customer’s feeling of resentment or frustration. You
have not helped-you have only made it harder for the
customer to accept the inevitable answer. However, you
should explain when a policy is only temporary or when
it is expected to change so that the customer knows the
current governing instructions.
Encouraging Complaints
Since you are a source of answers to problems,
customers may sometimes bring you a problem that you
are experiencing yourself. The SN’s comment, “The
division officer doesn’t like me,” in Case Number 4
opened the door for the PN to offer his shoulder for the
SN to cry on. The PN could have joined the SN in a duet
of self-pity and condemnation, but what would that have
accomplished? Rather, the PN determined the real cause
and took positive steps to correct it.
You may have some customers whose problems are
only imaginary. They want to complain about their petty
officers, division officer, duty assignments, working
conditions, or the hole in their socks. In these situations,
you must listen, but remain objective. Once again
consider Case Number 4. PN Doe listened objectively
to SN Frost’s complaints about his division officer. Then
she checked the Page 4 of SN Frost’s personnel record
and found he had not completed his PARs. After a phone
call to Frost’s division officer, PN Doe was able to show
the customer the specific causes of the problem. Her
action to correct those causes did much to improve the
customer’s attitude and discourage complaints. Had she
encouraged the customer’s complaints by sympathizing
with him or agreeing with his feeling of unfair treatment,
she would have reinforced the customer’s negative
attitude.
What should you do when faced with a similar
situation? You should try to improve the customer’s
attitude. If, like the SN, a customer has an attitude that
he or she is being picked on, try to show the customer
the specific causes of the problem. Then, take action to
correct those causes. Your actions will do much to
improve the customer’s attitude.
SHOWING APATHY
You show apathy by acting as though a customer is
too much of a bother; apathy is discouraging to a
customer. You can reflect apathy with a shrug of the
shoulders or words that imply who cares? What’s your
hurry? or, What’s the difference? Such responses give
the customer little hope in getting help with a problem.
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