Man doesn’t have the corner on conflict. Machines have their corner too!
Twice before 8 AM I was stopped cold in my tracks and reprimanded by, yes, a machine.
“Invalid Loyalty,” Kroger’s gas pump declared refusing to fill my tank. Gosh, this was my first visit; couldn’t they give me a chance? How did they know I had no potential for loyalty? I had to breathe, center, ask a few questions, and then eventually the petro flowed. However, I won’t go back. I felt too frustrated.
“You have a fatal error,” my printer informed me. The Lexmark website then shared, “Well, this error isn’t really fatal.” Then, why scare me with a lie? The word ‘fatal’ means deadly. I assumed I’d have to purchase a new printer. The fix didn’t cost me a dime.
“Turn your statements into questions and acknowledgments, or both” is one of the tenets of Spiral Impact. If either of these machines would have asked me a question or acknowledged something…I would have felt more loyal as a customer.
Later that same day, my computer had a hiccup. Firefox placed a message on my screen, “Oops, a mistake on our part. Would you please wait a second?” I really did laugh out loud! Thank you Firefox for acknowledging and asking a question! This endeared me to their service.
Man and modern machines aren’t all that different in their communication.
How about you? Do you stop progress or avoid solutions by making statements, whether in your mind or out loud?
Turn your statements into questions, acknowledgments or both! Care to comment or share? Please do!
