On Praising Kelly.

After yesterday’s run of mishaps, today’s little celestial prank was a severe interruption to the water supply. We had a mere trickle this morning and it soon dried up to nothing. Nothing was what we subsequently had all day. It returned to a mere trickle at about 7pm, and at the time of writing (see below) the pressure is still worryingly weak.

I talked to lots of people during the day, none of whom impressed very much – several young men in call centres, another young man sitting in a Severn-Trent Water van at the bottom of the lane, and a local resident who told me she’d heard that the whole of Britain and the Commonwealth had run dry and it was probably a Russian plot. I exaggerate, of course (as does she usually.) The message was coming through loud and clear, though: this is no Shire issue; this is BIG, and it’s going to take quite some time to fix.

And then there was a phone call from Severn-Trent which carried a recorded message to the effect that they were working very hard to resolve the issue and the supply should return to normal by 7pm. As I said, it was still a mere trickle at 7pm, and by 8pm it wasn’t much better. I rang again.

‘Good evening, you’re through to Severn-Trent Water. My name is Kelly. How may I help?’

Alarm bells. Kelly had a very young voice. Kelly sounded as though she’d only left school yesterday and this was the first day of her working life. I put the problem to her anyway and asked whether she had any up to date information.

‘Would you excuse me for a moment while I consult with one of my colleagues? Thank you.’

Suspicion confirmed: ‘…while I consult with one of my colleagues’ usually means ‘I only left school yesterday and this is the first day of my working life, so I haven’t a clue what I’m doing yet.’

I decided I would have to put Kelly on the spot, poor girl. None of this was her fault but it had gone on long enough and I needed answers. Maybe I would have to ask to speak to her supervisor, which isn’t much of a confidence boost, is it? Bad timing, Kelly.

Kelly came back.

‘Thank you for holding.’

‘That’s OK.’

And then she gave it to me, the whole picture and why it was taking so long to resolve the problem. She wasn’t reading off a script either. She’d obviously listened to the explanation, got it in one and fast, and was talking from a position of knowledge. She answered my questions convincingly. She inspired confidence. She impressed.

Well, I had to compliment her, didn’t I? Briefly but highly.

‘Thank yooo’ she intoned – nay, almost squealed.

‘Have a good evening,’ I concluded.

‘You tooo…’

That was nice. I’m so glad I didn’t tell her she was cute, even though she was. It seems so patronising (not to mention presumptuous) when an old git like me tells a young woman she’s cute, and she deserved better. And I hope the first day of her working life sets the pattern for the shape of things to come.