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Tones: Do You Hear Them or Fear Them?

November 9, 2017 By The Siren Of Support Leave a comment


It could have been the worst day.
My day started out normal. Dogs out. Coffee. Start the Sunday cleaning. Kids up. Off to the gym. Same old, same old.
A text comes in. I don’t see it. I’m living life. I’ve got not a care in the world unless it pertains to not falling on my a$$ during Zumba (thanks, Reman Runner). We are finally done sweating and stumbling when I head to the locker room and check my phone.
My heart drops as I see a text from my husband, who’s on duty: “I love you and give the kids a hug and a kiss from me.”
In this moment, my biggest fear has come true in my mind. I have no clue if the one I depend on, the one I need to be ok actually is ok.
He and the Milwaukee Fire Department had been on site at a devastating condo fire. The family that was inside that burning building is actually not ok, and likely never will be. My husband was part of the rescue, or rather, recovery teams. He was on a burning ladder engulfed in flames, risking his life for one of their own who wasn’t responding.
As a firefighter, the sound of the tones going off is a signal: get ready, head out to the site, and hope for the best.
When your “tones” go off, how do you respond?
My versions come in the form of calls, requests, emails, alarms, or alerts. When a call comes in for the Product Support Team, the worst thing I’m going to hear is yelling, possible profanity, and a couple dirty jokes.
I can relate a lot of what is seen in our industry to what those in public service see. There’s hand holding, a plethora of problem-solving, and a giant serving of empathy and patience. As the head of my team, I get the screamers, the ones that threaten, the criers. Is it always easy? No. But how I do it is simple: perception. In my job, it’s not life or death.
When a job you’ve done hasn’t gone according to plan, whether it be a major delay, an immediate failure, an unreasonable vehicle owner; whether the order is late….and I mean really late—the carrier routed the unit wrong, or heck dropped it off the back of the truck—it’s not catastrophic. It’s a problem that needs solving.
To my fellow service providers, do you freak out in the face of an issue? Do you hide behind excuses or pass the buck? If you do, stop. Think. Take a breather. No one is going to keel over or lose a limb (probably) at your hands. In reality, your action is going to solve a problem and give you the chance to make someone’s day.
In our jobs, most of us get the opportunity to make it right, even if we don’t hit the mark the first time. My advice is to suit up, keep calm, and respond accordingly with the best intentions.


The Siren of Support is no stranger to the sounds of rings, tones, and… sirens because urgency and emergencies happen. But it’s all about how you handle it. How do you keep calm and carry on? Share your thoughts below or message Sari directly. 
 

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