The other day I was at Robin and Co. beauty salon. I was looking forward to a relaxing time catching up with Robin, getting my hair cut, my roots covered and a lovely shampoo.  I arrived to find her compatriot had a client.  Even in close proximity, we were able to have our separate space. Lovely!
That is until Robin got a return phone call from AT&T .  The call went something like this:
Robin  had received a notice that she had not paid her phone bill for two months on her business and her account was being forwarded to collections.
Robin explained politely that she has had an automatic transfer for the last two years.
The girl, Ranisha, responded that she needed her account number.
Robin gave her account number.
The girl asked for her bank’s routing number on the account.
Robin gave her the routing number.
The girl stated that she could not find the account and asked for the account number.
Well, you can see where this is headed. Ranisha went back and forth asking for the same information over and over not finding the account.
The salon at this time was like the chorus in a Shakespearean play. Robin chanting that she was at her place of work and needed to get this mistake  resolved.  The salon was chanting ask for a supervisor.
This went on for a half hour.  No supervisor.
Ranisha once again asked for the account number and the routing number. She was setting up a new account and told Robin it would take up to two weeks for her to be reinstated.
At this point, Robin was beside herself.  She kept her temper under control but was pacing back and forth with that very sharp scissors in her hand.  I was worried for the cell phone, for Robin and for the people in the salon when Robin couldn’t take it anymore.
We were now on 45 minutes when Robin once again asked for a supervisor.
The salon was now chanting: Supervisor, Supervisor.
Robin was placed on hold with the delightful tape of offerings from AT&T.  The loop of this tape continued for ten minutes with Robin alternately working on my hair and putting the phone on speaker and pacing.
Finally, after one hour of Ranisha, the supervisor heard Robin’s problem and had it resolved in five minutes.
The reason I even wrote this column was that we all face similar frustrations in our daily life and I want to underline the fact that there is a reason we become screaming banshees.  In fact, we should all be congratulated that we don’t stab ourselves or someone else in the eye with our very sharp scissors.

Ellen Blaufarb is a marriage family therapist.

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