One of my favorite shows is Boiling Point. The idea is to put regular people in irritating situations to see how long it will take the person to get angry, irate or curse someone out. If the person stays calm through the irritating situation, then he or she wins money. Most people don't win. Maybe I'm sick for enjoying it. Or maybe I think about the entertainment value I might add to the show. Some days I have a low tolerance for activities that don't go smoothly...like getting to the check out counter at the grocery store and getting a clerk that moves like molasses.
Most people on the show are polite at first. We all try to be understanding...Maybe the clerk has had a rough day, maybe it is the attendants first day on the job. We justify others actions. Then if the situation continues to anger us or frustration sets in, many of us will eventually blow up at the person who is the catalyst for our irritation. I find that the Post Office often puts me in this frame of mind. I have to prepare myself for what I encounter there. A few simple breathing exercises...and then I'm ready.
I say all this to set the scene for the Furniture Bank office. David, Lonnie, the client services manager, and I all share a large open office space. There is a board room style table in the open space as well. And in order for clients to get to the restroom, they have to go through the entire office. Needless to say, it can get quite chaotic in here. It requires a lot of concentration to actually get work done during some moments of the day. It can also be quite entertaining.
When I first started here I was always taken off guard when David or Lonnie would randomly start talking. It's kind of like standing in the grocery store line with someone wearing a bluetooth. For a moment you assume they must be talking about you. After 9 months, I've adjusted.
Today, we (the blogging audience and I) are starting a count down to see how long it takes Lonnie and David to hit their boiling points. I have yet to see it, but am confident it could happen one day.
It's important to know who Lonnie and David deal with. Lonnie works with the clients we serve, individuals and families moving out of homeless shelters, living with HIV/AIDS and fleeing domestic violence situations. She also works with our partnering agencies. Each year she does a couple of trainings to teach partnering agencies how they can refer people in need to the Furniture Bank. There are several common issues that Lonnie has with clients and agencies. Most of them revolve around people not thoroughly reading the paperwork we've provided at the training. So, the test is who will cause her to reach her boiling point first - clients or agencies?
David works with donors. He receives a lot of phone calls each day from individuals and companies that utilize our free pick-up service within the four country metro area. Most of David's frustrations with donors revolve around donors wanting the Furniture Bank system to be different. Namely, many people call wanting to donate...which of course is what we hope for. However, we can't offer priority pick-up service to anyone. Since we rely on many donations to adequately serve our clients, we have to provide pick-up service based on a route that will give us the most donations. We also need adequate notice in order to provide a pick-up. A donor can't call at 2 p.m. and expect to get on the route for the following day. That rarely happens.
David also manages our truck drivers and trucks. If you've read previous posts you know how fickle the trucks can be. So, the test is what will cause David to reach his boiling point - a donor, our truck drivers or our ever-failing truck?
And of course the ultimate question is, who will reach the boiling point first? Stay tuned for updates!
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