I was at a patients place the other day when I got the phone call. I kind of recognized the number but couldn’t place it. I answered the call. The patient had their television blaring and the person who was calling me was very soft spoken. I asked what the nature of the call was.

The soft spoken woman said she was from Americorp and that my car insurance had expired.

“What?!” I got incensed and replied, “I don’t have car insurance with Americorp. I have it with State Farm and I know that it is NOT expired.”

She went on to say that she needed documentation about my car insurance. “I am not sending you any documentation,” I retorted. “I told you I don’t have car insurance with Americorp. I have it with STATE FARM!”

She was very soft spoken and had a foreign accent. She started trying to explain herself again. I interrupted her, this time attacking her personally. I told her I could not hear her and that I found her accent offensive. (Wow, I was on the brink of crazy here. How in God’s name can an accent be offensive?)

She gave up and said,”Okay,” then hung up. I finished my visit and then walked out of my patient’s apartment. As I was walking out I looked at the phone number where the call came from and again it looked familiar. I felt unsettled so I called it back. They answered the phone saying they were Americorp.

I told them I had just received a call from this number. They asked me if I worked for Americorp. I said “No, I didn’t.” Then they started listing the different branches of the corporation and they listed the company that I worked for. They said that the person that had called me was from HR and they needed an update on my car insurance because the original documentation I had provided had expired.

My tail went right between my legs and my heart was seared with shame. I felt horrible. I had just verbally abused someone from HR. I said I was sorry about a thousand times. I asked to speak to the woman I had mutilated with my words. They said it was fine just to try to get the documentation in. But it wasn’t fine. I started thinking of all of the excuses I could pull out for my horrible behavior and couldn’t find any that justified it. I had been downright rude and hateful.

This got me to thinking about how I treat foreigners that are on the other end of the line when I call for customer service in relation to a problem I have. Usually I am nice but not always. I can get very rude and obnoxious when I am not getting my problem solved. It doesn’t even matter if they don’t have an accent. If they are not solving my problem then I can get irate. God is working with me on this because I am beginning to realize that the biggest problem may be my hot temper.