Thursday, December 31, 2015

Paradise Part 14

The next few weeks were like the previous few weeks.  RB read complaint letters and emails from unhappy customers.  He did what was necessary to win the customer back and went on to the next complaint. 

Handling complaints for the executives gave RB variety, which he liked.  Working regular mail was mostly variations on the same problems.  RB also was grateful for the positive feedback from the executives and their staff.  One downside was the complexity of the problems or the value of the customer.  They were high profile in the eyes of the executive who passed the work to him.  RB knew he could not afford to lose a customer when the company executives required him to win them over.  Often, they were rich or famous or both. 
An opportunity for overtime was offered and RB took advantage.  However, it was a double edged sword.  RB made additional money and it was needed since he had 3 kids in high school and a house that needed repairs.  Nevertheless, each additional complaint wore away at his soul.  Each week of additional complaints brought him to a breaking point.  He was compelled to get away for a while.  Too often, he was unable to unable to get the relief his heart required.  Consequently, everything slowly built up. 
He never had health problems and had no concerns in that regard.  All he understood was the constant barrage of negativity ground him down.  Perhaps it was better to explain this way: each complaint required RB to carry a millstone.  Each day off allowed him to shed one.  His heart always had to carry more and more and there was no relief in sight. 
RB was happy he didn’t remember work when he drove home.  For some reason, deals didn’t stick in his mind.  He often needed to pull files to refresh his memory if something came up at a later date.  Once the file was in his hand, he could remember minute details.  If he closed the complaint with a phone call, he could recall voice inflections and even background noise in the customer’s house or place of business. 

Daily, he wished he could find a different job.  He didn’t want to sound dramatic but he felt the job was killing him.  Being in the Bad Place was killing him.  He just had to get out.  He applied for many jobs over the years and had a few interviews to no avail.  Now with the poor economy and lack of movement in the company, he was stuck.  He would retire or die in this job. 

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