Let's follow Henry, a service technician, through his day at a workshop and see his interactions with customers and workmates.
Henry is the only technician at work today. Most people at the garage are off sick. Henry's task is to finish the repair on a car engine. It's scheduled for completion tomorrow afternoon.
Paul: Hey Henry, we need your help at the front desk. Jake, Peter, Michael, they're all sick. I can't believe it.
Henry: I'm tied up here Paul. There's no way I can help you right now.
Paul: Look we don't have anyone else.
Henry: But I have a job to finish here.
Paul: I'm sorry, but this is more important. I'll see you at the front desk in five minutes, okay?
Henry: Okay.
Sue booked her car for service a week ago. The garage is unable to contact her to reschedule the service; her phone number has changed.
Henry: Good morning, can I help you?
Sue: Yes, I’m here to have my car serviced. I booked it in a week ago.
Henry: Sure what’s your name?
Sue: Richardson, Sue Richardson.
Henry: Is that 254 Red Hill Road?
Sue: Yes.
Henry: And you contact number is 405-555-6543?
Sue: Actually I changed my job; here’s my new number.
Henry: Is this for the usual 10000-mile service?
Sue: Yes.
Henry: Is there anything else?
Sue: No, I don’t think so.
Henry: The car should be ready by noon tomorrow. We’ll give you a call when it’s ready.
Sue: Oh no, I’m going on vacation. I’ll need the car this afternoon. Why does it take so long to do a scheduled service like this?
Henry: We’re really busy here today.
Sue: But I booked it in last week.
Henry: Yes but…
Sue: Look, is there anything you can do? I really need the car back by five o’clock this afternoon.
Henry: Okay, I can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.
Henry road tests Sue’s car and checks all the vehicle systems.
It takes him a while to notice a bumping noise coming from the rear of the car.
According to the vehicle’s 10000-mile service schedule, the oil needs changing, as do spark plugs, air and oil filters.
But Henry wants to check out the noise first.
He finds the top mounting on the rear left hand shock absorber is loose, and the shock absorber is starting to leak.
It needs to be replaced.
Henry goes to the spare parts department to get the replacement, but there is no one to help him.
The parts guy is sick too. He finds everything except the shock absorbers.
They’re on back order.
So he calls his friend at the local aftermarket parts store.
Henry: It’s Henry. I need rear shock absorbers for a ‘97 Froda.
Joe: Sure, we have them here; just fax your order through.
Henry calls Sue to tell here about the problem with the shock absorbers, but Sue’s not in the office.
Sue: Hello, this is Sue Richardson. I’m not available right now. Please leave a message after the beep.
Henry: Um, this is Henry, Uh. I need to talk to you about your car, um. Can you call me back?
Unfortunately Sue doesn’t call back before Henry needs to order the part. In fact, she doesn’t call back at all.
It can be dangerous for Sue to go on vacation with a leaking shock absorber. Henry decides he should change them.
In the afternoon, the part arrives. Sam the Junior Technician signs for it.
Sam: Henry, there’s a delivery for you.
Henry: What, I didn’t order this. I can’t believe it. I was sure I put the right part number on the order.
Henry: Oh well. When can I get the right one, then? Sure, that sounds good.
It’s five PM, and Sue comes to pick her car up. Henry and Sam are still working on it.
Sam: Ouch.
Henry: What’s up, are you okay?
Sam: I’m okay, I think. It’s fine. Just a scratch.
Henry: Good, Sue’s already here. We better finish this quick.
Sue: What do you mean it’s not ready yet? And I have to pay $200 more? I didn’t agree to this.
Sue: I can’t wait around for another hour. You’ll have to deliver the car to my house by 7 o’clock tonight.
Paul: That’s gonna be difficult for us Ma’am.
Sue: That’s your problem. You’ll get it there if you wanna be paid.
At the end of the day, Sue’s angry because she has to pay extra money for a repair that she didn’t authorise. On top of that, the service isn’t done yet. She desperately needs the car for her vacation tomorrow. Paul’s upset because he now has to deal with an unhappy customer. And his business reputation is at risk. Henry felt like his day has been a nightmare. He’s feeling bad because everyone’s blaming him for all their problems.
What do you think is the problem here? What has Henry done wrong? He’s trying his best to do the job isn’t he? Surprisingly, if Henry had known more about communication, his day could have been better.
No doubt everyone already knows something about communication. We send and receive messages every day. We talk to people, we read newspapers, we watch television, we surf the Internet. It’s simple stuff. Have you ever been in a similar communication gone wrong situation like Henry experienced to day? It can be quite tricky. Henry can certainly tell you that. So how does the simple stuff become so tricky? Even if we’ve been communicating for all of our lives, most of us aren’t aware of the skills needed to be a good communicator. As we learn more about these skills, we’ll analyse what Henry did, and what he could have done better. It doesn’t require any extra effort to communicate well, once you know the principles behind each skill. This knowledge will save you time, and help you avoid tricky situations. However, learning doesn’t stop when you finish this course. You’ll find that you learn something new every day when you encounter new situations or meet new people. It’s a lifelong learning process to perfect your communication skills.
