Why So Furious?
(Commentary
by Johnathen Tan)
Over the past fortnight, as
I was scrolling through my social media feed, I can’t help but to come across
viral news about people lashing out at staff who were deemed disrespectful or
hostile. From a luxury fashion retail outlet at Kuala Lumpur’s finest, to a
supposed government agency in Kelana Jaya – we would have a certain level of
expectation from the service given to us, right? Right? Fine, who am I kidding?
These things don’t come off as anything that would be surprising to us
Malaysians. It’s not something that we haven’t experienced ourselves. It’s just
that most of us are able to suppress our emotions when we are faced with
cynicism from difficult people in our daily lives.
To put it in context, I
discovered two occurrences to be somewhat similar. A man saw red and lost his
temper when he had to wait four (4) hours, after making repeated trips, to be
served at a government agency due to “lack of manpower and staff breaks”.
However, what appeared to be the case was that the staff were just lazing
around and having small chats instead of serving the patrons.
A day later, a man felt that
he was mistreated by the staff in a Louis Vuitton store at KLCC, as he tried to
get his name embossed on his newly bought bag. Apparently, he was treated like
a “dog”. What does he do next, you might ask? He sliced up one of his LV bags
right in front of a staff member, and advised him to not treat other customers
like “monkeys”.
However, I did find one
thing surprising. As I sat back and watch netizens go at it in the comments
section – which I find enjoyment in – I was taken aback by
how much support was garnered from the public. Some also claimed that they
would have done what the individuals did. So, I had myself asking, since when
did these self-proclaimed ethical, morally-correct social justice defenders
condone aggression? Why is fighting fire with fire now the right thing to do?
At the end of the day, I don’t think their impulsive behaviour brought them any
good – the man didn’t get his documents verified and the other guy lost his
overly-priced Louis Vuitton bag to a pair of scissors.
Using public relations as a frame of reference, understanding that one of the elements of PR is crisis management, let's switch up the roles; the individuals represent the “organisation”, whilst the staff represent the “public”. The staff's behaviour towards the individuals involved would be the “crisis”. Bad PR would be the organisation coming up with reckless moves with no underlying strategies – contributing nothing to finding a solution to the problem. Some would consider the actions "heroic", "cool" or "rebellious" – but good PR is finding ways that will bring about a solution. Whether that may be writing a restrained yet impactful piece, or taking a calmer and more a professional approach at communicating your message to the public.
There is always a way around dealing with difficult people, in which it can be resolved in a peaceful manner, so that both parties can have a clear mind as they head home to rest for the day. When dealing with rude, hostile people – one should express the behaviour that is concerning them, politely with an even tone. As they always say, “The best way to handle rudeness is to bite your tongue and respond in a calm, cool manner.” While you can’t choose how others respond to you, you can choose how you respond to them – and by succumbing to compulsion, you are only averting from working out a solution to the problem at hand.
There is always a way around dealing with difficult people, in which it can be resolved in a peaceful manner, so that both parties can have a clear mind as they head home to rest for the day. When dealing with rude, hostile people – one should express the behaviour that is concerning them, politely with an even tone. As they always say, “The best way to handle rudeness is to bite your tongue and respond in a calm, cool manner.” While you can’t choose how others respond to you, you can choose how you respond to them – and by succumbing to compulsion, you are only averting from working out a solution to the problem at hand.
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For further reading, explore the following articles:
Image source: WORLD OF BUZZ, Mothership.SG
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