Autor Martin R. Schneider arbeitete vor Jahren bei einer Arbeitsvermittlung (sofern ich „Employment Service“ korrekt übersetzt habe) und war dort Vorgesetzter und vor allem Kollege von Nicole Pieri. Sie hatte häufig Diskussionen mit ihrem gemeinsamen Boss, der sie für zu langsam hielt. Eines Tages war Schneider in eine Konversation mit einem anstrengenden und herablassendem Kunden, der weder seine Lösungsvorschläge annahm noch Fragen zur Kenntnis nahm.
Plötzlich fiel Martin auf, dass er die letzten Mails mit der Signatur von Nicole gesendet hatte, denn die beiden teilten sich ein Postfach. Aus Neugierde wechselte er die Signatur und moderierte den Kunden an, er sei jetzt MArtin R. Schneider und er würde ab sofort übernehmen.
Alles änderte sich sofort. Der Kunde benahm sich beispielhaft und liess sich gern belehren. Das Experiment setzten die beiden im Anschluss für eine Woche fort, aber lest selbst.
Kapitel 1 – Die Geschichte
So here's a little story of the time @nickyknacks taught me how impossible it is for professional women to get the respect they deserve:
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
Nicole and I worked for a small employment service firm and one complaint always came from our boss: She took too long to work with clients.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
As her supervisor, I considered this a minor nuisance at best. I figured the reason I got things done faster was from having more experience
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
But I got stuck monitoring her time and nagging her on the boss' behalf. We both hated it and she tried so hard to speed up with good work.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
So one day I'm emailing a client back-and-forth about his resume and he is just being IMPOSSIBLE. Rude, dismissive, ignoring my questions.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
Kapitel 2 – Das Problem
Telling me his methods were the industry standards (they weren't) and I couldn't understand the terms he used (I could).
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
Anyway I was getting sick of his shit when I noticed something.
Thanks to our shared inbox, I'd been signing all communications as "Nicole"— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
It was Nicole he was being rude to, not me. So out of curiosity I said "Hey this is Martin, I'm taking over this project for Nicole."
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
Kapitel 3 – Die Erkenntnis
IMMEDIATE IMPROVEMENT. Positive reception, thanking me for suggestions, responds promptly, saying "great questions!" Became a model client.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
So I asked Nicole if this happened all the time. Her response: "I mean, not ALL the time… but yeah. A lot."
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
Note: My technique and advice never changed. The only difference was that I had a man's name now.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
Kapitel 4 – Das Experiment
We did an experiment: For two weeks we switched names. I signed all client emails as Nicole. She signed as me.
Folks. It fucking sucked.— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
I was in hell. Everything I asked or suggested was questioned. Clients I could do in my sleep were condescending. One asked if I was single.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
By the time she could get clients to accept that she knew what she was doing, I could get halfway through another client.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
Nicole had the most productive week of her career.
I realized the reason she took longer is bc she had to convince clients to respect her.— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
I wasn't any better at the job than she was, I just had this invisible advantage.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
I showed the boss and he didn't buy it. I told him that was fine, but I was never critiquing her speed with clients again.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
He conceded that battle, but found ways to hound us both on time in other manners, but again, that's a different story.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
Here's the real fucked-up thing: For me, this was shocking. For her, she was USED to it. She just figured it was part of her job.
— Martin R. Schneider (@SchneidRemarks) March 9, 2017
Via ATTN
