Accepting Procedures

Sometimes simple things can take forever. Sometimes getting to point A from point B, a mere hop and skip away, is not allowed. By HR, by lawyers, by doctors, you name it. It’s something I’ve noticed now that I am no longer a “child” and can’t just have a hissy fit to get my way. This came into sharp relief last Tuesday. It’s not from the business world, but the lesson learned is applicable everywhere. See, last Tuesday I tried to get a prescription and fill it. It took me 3 hours.

I’m sure you’re wondering how a prescription could take 3 hours to get and fill. First off, no, my doctor isn’t in another time zone. And no, I don’t live in Timbuktu and have to drive to the nearest city to find a pharmacist. (And I’m sure that folk in Timbuktu have their own pharmacists, thank you.)

It took me 3 hours because my calls kept getting dropped on my land-line, I got lost, I got a new prescription drug club membership that took forever to call and set up, and that I had accidentally set up wrong as I discovered at the pharmacy, which had lines and took 20 minutes to fill the prescription anyway.

You can easily substitute getting paperwork from HR into this tale, or dealing with lawyers. Imagine trying to get worker’s comp! I’m a big proponent in being a professional no matter what I am doing. Being in the office is optional. Being professional is not. So to me, this prescription saga really is a lesson in professionalism. The lesson I learned was that patience truly is a virtue. Though the Fry’s Pharmacy folk weren’t the most smiley and customer service prone folk in the world, they didn’t deserve my wrath. I had to find the patience to let
them do their work the way they do it. My yelling and screaming would solve nothing, except make the process take even longer.

Perhaps your company’s HR department needs a lesson in common sense. Well, it’s not up to you to give it to them (unless it is). Fill out your little complaint card, if you want. But otherwise, patience.

Read more of my thoughts on professionalism and joining the business world HERE.