On Waiting

Nothing earth shattering, just an observation.

Why do people who keep you waiting feel justified to complain that you are not prepared to drop everything and focus exclusively on them when they finally deign to offer their time?

My job requires me to juggle the needs of multiple locations, and often multiple contacts and efforts within a given location, on a daily basis. Too often, contacts are not prepared at pre-scheduled times and do not have ready materials that were requested in advance to help ensure a smooth and productive work effort. Regularly I am confronted by multiple clients at 5:00, or 6:00, or later in the evening, who range in response from disappointment to true outrage that I am not immediately available to help them with their problem scheduled for hours or even days previously.

Do such people truly believe that they are the only ones on the planet requiring goods or services? Do they feel I should consider myself honored that they are now willing to permit me to serve them? Do they honestly think I might regard their time as having greater worth than that of other customers or my own?

They may think these things - but I don't.

Acting responsibly and being considerate of others. I missed the law that forbids such a practice, so I suppose such actions must be okay.