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Showerthought: The change in customer service since we went remote
I've been teaching middle school for 8 years and dealing with parents used to be face-to-face during pickups or conferences. Since we switched to mostly email and video calls three years ago, I've noticed parents are way more aggressive behind a screen, saying things they'd never say in person. Has anyone else seen a big shift in how people act once they don't have to look you in the eye?
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valw3621d ago
Lose my mind reading this because I've had the exact same experience but with my HOA board. These folks turned into total monsters once they started running everything through email. Like, one lady sent this three paragraph rant about my grass being a quarter inch too tall, something she would never have the guts to say to my face when she walks her dog past my house every morning. I swear the screen gives people a weird courage boost to say the most ridiculous stuff without any filter. It's like they forget there's an actual human on the other end reading their words.
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The way you described those HOA emails hit home, especially the "weird courage boost" part. I think there's something almost like an audience effect at play here. When someone types out a complaint, they're performing for a group they can't see, maybe their own social circle or just their own internal echo chamber, not the actual recipient. That three paragraph rant about the grass wasn't really about the grass, it was about her getting to play the righteous role in front of herself and everyone on that board. In person, there's immediate feedback, a furrowed brow or a sigh that reminds you there's a real person with real feelings. Behind a screen, all that feedback is gone and it's just them and their fantasy of being the hero of their own story.
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hugo82510d ago
valw36 nailed it with that HOA example. That lady would never say that to your face because she knows she'd look ridiculous standing there yelling about grass. The screen turns normal people into keyboard warriors over the dumbest stuff. It strips away all the social cues that usually keep people in check.
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