One of the first things you learn is that diplomacy is everything. I’m tested almost everyday by people who think they know more and are more important, and I’m forced to smile and acknowledge their greatness. It doesn’t matter if their position is the president of the university all the way down to the janitor of my building.
Today I was tested by a secretary in the accounting department of my funding source. In order to order software, you’re required to beg them to place an order for you. It takes about 2 minutes (literally), it’s an online form and you simply click on the program you want and enter the fund number. But you must still beg and praise them for taking time out of their incredibly busy schedules.
As an example of how busy they are – when I first went to her office, she was using Photoshop to alter some pictures of animals. When I asked about the software yesterday, she said she would do it when she had time (maybe after her Photoshopping task perhaps?) Today, this woman decided to test me in numerous ways. One, she insisted that I didn’t specify that I wanted the physical disk in addition to the license, although I printed out an order form with both of them specified. The disk had a price of $0, which is why she probably didn’t see it. Regardless, she was condescending and told me it was my fault for forgetting to tell her. Next, she said I didn’t specify if I wanted “a Microsoft version” or not. Confused, I said the company’s name, which wasn’t Microsoft. She then yelled “Microsoft or Apple?” to which I realized the confusion - she thinks there are only two types of computers, Macs and Microsofts. I tried explaining it to her but as mentioned above, she feels she knows more and is more important.
It’s incredibly difficult to talk to someone so ignorant, yet at the same time so arrogant in their knowledge (or lack thereof), without wanting to yell back. I could have stood my ground and pointed out that Microsoft doesn’t make a type of computer that competes with Macs, but it wouldn’t have mattered. So, I humbly acknowledged her superior knowledge and let her believe that this person with a PhD is a moron while she was the far superior person who had to teach me the difference between the types of computers.
Diplomacy.
