The Other As A Mirror

Carla and Judit had joined HumanKey within a month of each other. Carla had been at that temp agency from day one. Despite the crisis, the response of the companies had been so good that a second operator had to be hired soon to answer the calls.

On paper, they had found the perfect pair. Like Carla, in the personal interviews and tests before being hired, Judit had shown to have a remarkable empathy with her interlocutors, in addition to being fluent in four languages.

In practice, however, something was rotting on that key front for the office. The first sign of concern jumped when the manager detected a strange silence between those two women of similar age and training.

They were never seen sharing a coffee and barely exchanged a few monosyllables throughout the day.

The final crisis exploded one Monday morning, when Carla was discovered crying in the bathroom while her phone did not stop ringing. Judit didn’t seem to be on her best day either, as she made a mistake when redirecting two calls.

Faced with this situation and without further delay, the manager summoned the chief of staff to ask him for an explanation of the situation.

“I don’t understand what’s going on,” the man apologized. Both employees have flawless résumés. I do not know that any of them are conflictive. According to our protocols, their profiles cannot be more suitable for the position they occupy.

“In this case, I want to speak to each of them individually,” said the manager.

The first to enter the office was Carla. In her late thirties, she wore an impeccable suit jacket and wore her dark hair in a bun. The sweet musicality in her voice was reminiscent of efficient stewardesses in movies.

After studying it carefully, the head of the agency decided to take the bull by the horns.

“I think you had a bad day, ” he tweeted as usual among HumanKey staff. Now that the phone lines are closed until tomorrow, I would like to know if I can help you in any way. I’m all ears.

“Well, the truth is …” The operator blushed. I really don’t know how to explain what happened this morning. I am very sorry to have left my post. I promise it won’t happen again.

“Neither has your partner been very fine.” He has passed our best client to the wrong department twice.

“Judit is an extraordinary professional, ” Carla hastened to defend her. Surely this lapse will not be repeated either.

The manager sighed in understanding and said:

“It is not the mistake that worries me, but it is obvious that you do not get along.” That negativity ends up being transmitted to customers, who come to us looking for solutions, not problems.

“I understand perfectly,” Carla blushed again. None of this would happen if it weren’t for … yes, I am convinced that Judit hates me.

“How did you come to this conclusion?”

“Although she came after me, from day one she has treated me like an enemy.” She is very cold to me and everything seems to bother her, even my tone of voice when serving customers. I have tried to understand myself with her but it is impossible. He is in a bad mood all day and when I try to be nice he avoids my gaze. There is no doubt that he hates me.

Minutes later, the manager received Judit in her office. Like his partner, he wore a suit jacket. She wore short brown hair at the level of her ears, which gave her a “retro” air that married her job as a telephone operator.

Judit’s clear voice was heard before her boss spoke to her.

“I’m so sorry I was so clumsy this morning.” It will not happen again.

“You just spoke as your partner, with practically the same words,” the manager pointed out. Why do you treat her so coldly? Don’t you like him?

“Did Carla say that?” Judit’s eyes were indignant. Since I arrived, I have tried to become her friend, but her gaze shuns me and everything about me seems to bother her, even my voice. Hates me.

The manager had to suppress a smile as she called the chief of staff to summon Carla again.

Now the two telephonists, visibly nervous, were sitting in front of their boss waiting for what – they feared – could end in a dismissal for both of them.

“Your friction is not caused by differences of character,” the manager began, “but on the contrary: you two are too equal.”

-What do you mean by that? Carla asked, looking stunned at her partner.

—I will speak in silver, I do not beat around the bush. You are both hypersensitive, which is positive for good customer service, but your weak point is that you are in need of affection. You are orderly and compliant in the extreme, but you take offense too quickly and suspect even your shadow.

“That’s not true,” Judit lit up with a knowing look at her partner. We are exaggerating a misunderstanding that …

—I am sure that if I inquired into your lives, I would find many more affinities ,since you have even used the same words to talk about the conflict. For example, the two of you live alone and your resume shows that you have very similar hobbies. Why don’t you resolve your differences, or rather, your coincidences tomorrow Saturday with a tennis match?

The operators were shocked at the same time at the idea, although it was true that both of them hit the racket.

“Bottom line, girls,” the manager concluded. If you don’t want to sweat on the tennis court, go out to dinner tonight and share a bottle of wine. After the thaw, you are sure to have a great time. Do you know Only what is in us bothers us about others. Who looks like an enemy is actually a mirror that shows us what we are like. What separates us is, in reality, what unites us.