When I did phone support they really did emphasize the fact that end users needed to vent in order to feel satisfied with the solution. Techs who rushed to the solution got bad survey scores.

There’s an episode of the You Are Not So Smart podcast where the guest (either was? or just interviewed?) the psychologist in charge of interviewing astronauts for suitable personality traits. He had a ton of great insights, but the thing that stuck with me is that there are basically three kinds of conversations:

• Solving practical problems
• Venting emotions
• Affirming social worth

They’re all important, but having the right one at the right time is the key.

Found it: https://youarenotsosmart.com/2025/02/20/yanss-305-how-to-become-a-supercommunicator-according-to-science/

Great cartoon and so much what is sometimes going on in the job world. In my case:

Chef: You cannot work alone on problems. If you have one, don’t wait, but approach us.

Chef after evaluation of work: You showed little autonomy (without mentioning that it has to do with approaching them when problems).