Bad line on behavior

What drives you to lose your temper on the telephone? Being kept waiting, being connected to voice mail or being passed on to someone else are all common flashpoints. But what infuriates people most of all is talking to someone who sound inattentive, unconcerned or insincere, according to a survey published today.

The study by Reed Employment Services, a recruitment company, found that nearly two-thirds of people feel that ‘phone rage’ people losing their temper on the telephone – has become more common over the past five years. More than half the respondents, who were from 536 organizations, said that they themselves had lost their tempers on the phone this year.

The reasons for this are threefold, according to Reed. People are much more likely to express anger over the phone, rather than in writing or face-to-face. Moreover, telephone usage has been rising steeply over recent years. Increasing numbers of transactions take place entirely by phone, from arranging insurance to paying bills.

In addition, people’s expectations have risen. Nearly three-quarters of respondents to the Reed survey said they are more confident that their problems can be solved over the telephone than they were five years ago.

Companies are taking steps to improve their staff’s telephone answering techniques. The survey found that 70 per cent of organizations require their staff to answer the telephone with a formal company greeting. In 43 per cent of organizations, staffs have to give their own names when they answer the telephone.

FINANCIAL TIMES

World business newspaper

9. 9.Определите к какому функциональному стилю он относится и тщательно проанализируйте его.

Passengers behaving badly

The abusive passenger is becoming a world-wide problem. Delta Air Lines crew suffer 100 verbal and physical assaults a month, while cabin crews in some airlines are seeking early retirement at 50 because of their stressful work. One businessman was recently less than happy when airport staff told him his luggage had been lost. Already frustrated by a delayed flight, he stormed onto the runway, took out a pistol and shot out an aircraft’s front tyre.

“Every time there is an incident where the cabin crew feel compelled to bring someone off the flight-deck, there will be safety issues,” says Leslie Berkowits, in-flight services manager at the International Air Transport Association.

The cause of most passenger misbehavior is stress, according to Farrol Kahn, director of the Aviation Health Institute. Overcrowding and queuing at the airport raises adrenalines levels. Normally these levels decrease through gaining control of a situation, either by standing up or fighting or by running. Instead passengers are kept in cramped conditions on an aircraft, where they have no control. “In these circumstances, they wait for one little excuse and then let rip,” says Dr Kahn.

Much of the abuse is down to alcohol. Dahilberg and Associates, the aviation consultancy, recently discovered that 202 out of 708 major incidents noted by a US carrier over a six-month period were alcohol-related. Seventy-four incidents were smoking-related: more carriers are banning on-board smoking, leading the nicotine-dependent into conflict as they try to have a secret cigarette.

FINANCIAL TIMES

World business newspaper

10. 10.Определите к какому функциональному стилю он относится и тщательно проанализируйте его.