You are suppose to not take things personally at work. “Nothing personal, it’s business.” But it’s hard not to take it personally when you are dealing with customers who are angry and frustrated. Most times I temper that with the fact that it’s mostly due to the customer’s lack of knowledge and that a little guidance and some hints and tips will solve most of their problems.

However, what makes it harder is when you know the customers’ problems are directly caused by your company’s actions. Usually, those actions are for the long term improvement of the way we do things. The employees can see the benefits but customers are more often than not, focused on the short term pain.

They are paying money for a service and they expect that service to be flawless 100% of the time. Some understand and will accept that nothing’s perfect. Some can put things in perspective – “It’s a few hours or at worst a day or two out of 365 days”. Some are in the service industry themselves and know the pain and difficulties of serving customers.

But not all customers are like that. However, it is more or less true that 20% of your customers are the ones who complain 80% of the time. It may get hard not to take things personally but at least I can always keep a sense of perspective about it because it could be a whole lot worse – at least it’s only 20% of the customers.

Plus, the importance of having good colleagues and managers who look out for you cannot be overlooked. Because when you are dealing with difficult customers, you don’t need a toxic working environment piled onto it. I’m glad I’m not in one because I would have burnt out a long time ago.

At the end of the day, literally, it’s only work. It’s only one part of your life. You’ve got your family and friends and that’s where you should make it personal. And for your sanity’s sake, try to find some time to play!