Making Decisions and Solving Problem

As an aspiring English Professor, the ability to make numerous decisions and solve complex problems will be a necessary skill to gain credibility with my colleagues and my students. The idea that decision making could turn a career or an assignment from opportunity to failure seems to be a bit of a stretch but, despite how exaggerated it may seem, there is always a possibility that one wrong decision or one unsolved problem could lead to numerous disasters.

As a dedicated student and a seasoned retail employee, I’ve become well practiced in the art of decision making and problem solving. The methods I use often depend greatly on the situation. It is important to define the situation and the problem before deciding on any course of action. I sort out the needs and priorities of the people who would have to deal with my decisions and try to find a solution that accommodates everyone. I like to try to find a middle ground that will help everyone involve benefit in some way but, if that is not possible, I like to think about what would be better in the future. There are many angles that should be considered before trying to make any decisions that include others. I always identify needs over wants and what would satiate those needs better. I also have the tendency to think about numerous situations so that I can come up with many possible solutions in the future.

The most recent situation that I encountered that needed quick thought and decision making took place at my current place of employment (Lowe’s). I happened by a very disgruntled customer who was exchanging hateful and irate words with the associate at the Return Desk. The situation was escalating quickly and the situation did not seem to be getting resolved. I stepping in, hoping to calm down the customer, and asked for a quick summary of the situation. The problem was that the employee had refunded a damaged lawn mower, charged for a new lawn mower, but had forgotten to change the price to the sales price. The customer refused to sign off on any receipt, refused to allow the employee to do a complete refund of the new lawn mower, and refused to let the employee try to explain herself. Deciding that the customer probably wanted reassurance that he would not get any phone calls about faulty purchases, I explained to the customer the Lowe’s return policy. I then explained that, since he was unsure about the validity of his own signature in this situation, I would sign the return receipt and write a note explaining the situation on the receipt. I then apologized for any troubles he had faced and explained that I would simply use the system to refund the money that should have been taken off with the sales price back on to his card. I then provided him with my name and explained that, in case of any trouble, he could call the store and specifically ask for me to validate the return and all of the processes that I had gone through. The customer left calm and confident in his purchase. Using quick thinking and problem solving, I was able to calm down a furious customer, prevent any danger towards the employee, and prevented any complaints to the corporate office.