The Technology of Listening

In the comedy “Last Holiday,” Queen Latifah’s character becomes so frustrated by her boss’s preoccupation with his cell phone, she winds up smashing it as a prelude to quitting.

Why is that funny? Why are handhelds used as symbols of arrogance? Obviously, it struck a chord because audiences cheered and laughed when Queen Latifah finally demolished her boss’ phone.

Ever worked with a bad listener? Ever worked for a bad listener who also derived a sense of personal importance from being “always on,” constantly texting and responding to cell phone calls when others are trying to speak? In her book Seven: The Number for Happiness, Love, and Success, former Reader’s Digest editor Jacqueline Leo remarks, “Our own conceit becomes one of the reasons people can’t put their machines down. They make us feel too important.”

Not being heard is frustrating and draining, and can usually mean business gets done ineffectively, with needless errors, or not at all. Relationships also suffer from the lack of courtesy.

Regardless of technological advances, being heard is a basic human need.

We’re so preoccupied by “digital traffic” we forget how important it is to listen, and to develop those skills. What’s more, we’ve forgotten the value of the listener in routine human contact. Being listened to has a transformative effect on human beings—they feel valued and revitalized—better information is exchanged, and relationships deepen and strengthen.

So bear this in mind the next time you put someone off because you’ve just got to get that text across: these devices are intended to help communication, not hinder them.

Customer Service Does Not Mean No Service

Few things in life are as fascinating as the denial suffered by humans who’ve invested in technology, and how they insist it will work despite problems cited by customers.

In recent years, for example, commercial printers have invested in FTP sites to enable clients to upload project files. FTP stands for “File Transfer Protocol” — such a site allows the printers’ clients to upload large files via the Internet quickly and securely. This means a project can be delivered to the printer 24/7, without transportation costs, particularly at the clients’ convenience. And yet I’ve only known a handful of FTP sites to work smoothly. Why? The reasons are spectacularly human.

Printers would change their upload procedure without notifying their clients about it: in other words, it took a failed upload to make that clear. When an upload was successful, seldom is an email automatically sent to the client confirming it.

Even more staggering, if an upload wasn’t successful, it meant the client had to persist in calling to ask, “Did my files come through?” only to receive that half-blank, “I don’t think so...let me check...no, they didn’t come through...can you resend?” The last part of that conversation could take hours to resolve. I’ve wondered how this made the printer look to their customers, about their commitment to service after the sale.

I’ve experienced upload complications that took up so much time, a courier could’ve been sent to pick up a disk for less money than was consumed by wasted time. I’ve also encountered technical people who wanted me to run through a variety of upload alternatives, without considering the impact on my time. Why is this important? The point is to get the work, not mire your customers in your technological wonders.

Put your ear to the ground and assess if your technology may in fact be annoying your customers.