Zebra Sounds

I was just on the phone with Renita, a representative from our insurance carrier who I’d called about a billing.  It took me a while to get to her.  I was on hold first, transferred twice.  I had other stuff to do.  There was a certain tension in the air – the kind of aggressive unease  inherrent to dealing with insurance companies… the kind of tension exacerbated by every minute that piles up between you and resolution.

But then a funny thing happened.  At the instant I heard Renita’s voice, I smiled.  Consciously.  Act how you want to feel, I thought, and I smiled. I relaxed.  I was amenable.  I wanted to feel friendly and cooperative and so that’s how I acted.  The cool part?  So did Renita.  We were done in five minutes, my questions answered, my problem taken care of.

I admit, it could be that she’s exceptional, that out of all the potential drones I might have been connected to, I got Renita, Queen of the Efficient and Friendly.  It could be that it was still early, or that my problem wasn’t hard to fix.

Then again, maybe it was the smile.