Problem Solving
What does this look like? Analyze and determine methodically the best way to rectify a
social/personal issue.
My Criteria: persistent, open-minded, adaptable, big-picture oriented (look at the big picture and the steps it takes to get there) , details
My Criteria: persistent, open-minded, adaptable, big-picture oriented (look at the big picture and the steps it takes to get there) , details
Move-In Fiasco:
Two days after I finished moving into my new apartment this past August the maintenance guys came in while I was away and moved everything out of my room, into the living room. When I came back from my busy day filled with meetings, I walked up to my apartment door that was wide open. I was the only one of my roommates that had moved in early so I was extremely confused and a little frightened as to why our door was wide opened when I remembered locking it before I left the house that morning. I called my dad so I was on the phone with someone and then yelled into my apartment asking if anyone was there. When I received no response I pushed the door open and walked in to find everything had been moved out of my room into the living room. And stacked up in my bathroom blocking my shower and toilet. Upon further inspection I also discovered that our balcony door was wide open, every single light was turned on in the apartment and the rooms had new carpet. It suddenly clicked. The carpet people had come in to replace all of my carpet and had just left everything in the living room without moving it back. Since all of my furniture was too heavy for me to move myself, I called down to the front office and told them what had happened. They told me if nobody came to my apartment by 5pm to call back and they would send someone first thing in the morning. I asked them if there was anything they could do before then since I wouldn’t have anywhere to sleep for the night and they said there wasn’t.
To ensure I got all of my stuff moved back into my room before the morning I went outside looking for the carpet guys. They were nowhere to be found in our building, which frustrated me because that most likely meant my apartment door had been left open for an hour or more. I continued to walk throughout the apartment complex looking for the maintenance men when I finally found them two buildings down. I approached them to ask if they could move my stuff back into my room. However, I quickly discovered they only spoke Spanish. Luckily for me I grew up on the border of Mexico so I have been around Spanish my entire life. In my broken Spanish I asked them to come to my building and move my furniture back into my room. They quickly obliged.
From this experience I learned how important it is to stay clam in the face of chaos and figure out a way to solve whatever issue I might have encountered. It would’ve been extremely easy for me to have called the front office, cussing them out and telling them they should’ve changed the carpet in my room BEFORE allowing me to move in since they undid all of the hard work I had done the past three days with my parents. Living eight hours away, I was forced to reorganize all of my stuff and rewire my television without anyone’s help. While this situation was completely inconvenient it wasn’t anything I couldn’t handle. When I am faced with a problem I have to remember that the only way to solve it is to keep calm and think through every possible solution. I must then decide what the best and most effective way to solve this solution is and carry it out.
If I am ever presented with a similar situation in the future I will remember that people are more likely to help me if I am calm and kind like I was in this situation rather than angry and yelling. Nobody enjoys dealing with someone who is illogical or upset especially if they know it was indeed their mistake. Most people don’t enjoy being wrong or having others point out their mistakes. This is why even though I was extremely frustrated I tried my absolute hardest not to point fingers or tell them everything they did wrong. I am not one to sit and wait for something to be handled later if it can be resolved now. When people tell me there isn’t a way to do something but I think there is, I find a way to do it. Throughout this entire situation I kept the big picture in mind, being able to sleep in my room that night and use my bathroom. When plan A, calling the office to get them to fix it, didn’t work I quickly came up with plan B, find the maintenance men myself. Every now and then things will not always go the way I planned, which is why the ability to think on my feet and come up with other possible solutions is extremely important.
If I am ever presented with a similar situation in the future I will remember that people are more likely to help me if I am calm and kind like I was in this situation rather than angry and yelling. Nobody enjoys dealing with someone who is illogical or upset especially if they know it was indeed their mistake. Most people don’t enjoy being wrong or having others point out their mistakes. This is why even though I was extremely frustrated I tried my absolute hardest not to point fingers or tell them everything they did wrong. I am not one to sit and wait for something to be handled later if it can be resolved now. When people tell me there isn’t a way to do something but I think there is, I find a way to do it. Throughout this entire situation I kept the big picture in mind, being able to sleep in my room that night and use my bathroom. When plan A, calling the office to get them to fix it, didn’t work I quickly came up with plan B, find the maintenance men myself. Every now and then things will not always go the way I planned, which is why the ability to think on my feet and come up with other possible solutions is extremely important.