“Dark serviceman”
Marcin worked as a copier repair technician. He liked his job. More precisely, he liked fixing copiers. He liked fixing things in general. After work, he would often retreat to his home garage and passionately tinker with his car. His wife didn't complain either – anything that broke at home, whether it was an appliance or electronics, Marcin would fix it, as long as he had access to the device's diagram and could buy the parts. A broken bicycle? No problem. A leaky faucet? A piece of cake. Something is rattling in the washing machine? Marcin was already digging into it. What often gave others a headache, like reading manuals or analyzing technical drawings, brought Marcin genuine pleasure. He could intensely focus on machine diagrams, then delve into their inner workings with photographic memory, accurately diagnosing and fixing the cause of the fault.
The bosses were pleased with him. Marcin worked precisely and carefully, perhaps sometimes a little too slowly. When a client got impatient for this reason and asked why the repair was taking so long, Marcin would reply that you can buy a new copier quickly, but when you have an old one, repairs take time.
"Well sir, that was very impertinent of you to say," Barbara, the director of the training center, was once outraged by Marcin's specific comment. Then she immediately called Marcin's boss.
„Ms. Basia,” Krzysztof, the head of service, reassured her, "Really, I apologize most sincerely for Marcin, but honestly, please don't worry about it. We call him 'The Dark Serviceman' around the company. He's just like that, that's all. You know, a bit of a mad genius.".
"Mr. Krzysztof," Mrs. Basia replied, a bit through gritted teeth, "I don't see any genius in Mr. Marcin whatsoever. On the other hand, it's not hard to notice his rudeness and boorishness. I would suggest looking more closely at his work, because people like that... you know, that kind of behavior, that way of being... it all reflects very poorly on your company..."
– Well, of course… I know that. I’ll talk to Marcin – stammered Krzysztof, flustered.
Mrs. Basia hung up the phone, pleased with how the conversation had gone. Difficult negotiations, corrective talks, quick reprimands, and laying all the cards on the table had never been a problem for Mrs. Basia. Meanwhile, Krzysztof took a deep breath after his conversation with the client. He didn't like her. But she was one of their most loyal and biggest clients. Could he ignore her words?
When Marcin returned from the field, meaning his client visits, Krzysztof asked him about his impressions of the work. Marcin was surprised. His boss had never asked him about his subjective work impressions. He would simply give him a list of customer requests, Marcin would take it and head out on the road. Then he would return, and if there was still time left in the workday, he would review the assignments for the next day or sit down at machines that had been sitting for several months, „showing no promise” of repair, machines that should have gone to scrap long ago, but Marcin kept giving them a chance, digging passionately into their insides. Krzysztof never even asked what he was doing.
It was peak training season, and Mrs. Basia's company copier was running at full speed. With intensive use, the machine started overheating and jamming paper. At one point, it jammed the paper so effectively that despite the entire team's efforts, they couldn't get the sheet, or rather, its scraps, out, and the copier, blinking a red light, firmly refused to work any further. Upset, Mrs. Basia called Krzysztof, demanding an immediate service technician. Krzysztof promised that a technician would arrive at Mrs. Basia's company as soon as possible. He hung up and looked at his employees' schedules. Two were in towns 30-40 kilometers away. One technician was on sick leave. In the city, closest to Mrs. Basia's company, was... Marcin. Oh well, he's the closest, so he'll be able to get there the fastest. Krzysztof reached for his phone. When Marcin answered, he immediately and briefly explained the situation.
"You have to go to them immediately," he said in conclusion.
"Boss, that's impossible," Marcin objected. "I'm at a client's, I've got a machine half-disassembled here. I can't just leave it like this and walk out saying, 'You just wait here, I've got a more important client...'"
Krzysztof sighed heavily. Marcin is right. Well, I don't know, do something, figure it out. Call them or something. Explain the situation and that you'll be there immediately when you finish there. And that you'll finish soon. I'll give you the number in a moment.
Krzysztof sent Marcin Mrs. Basia's phone number. Marcin called.
– Good morning, Marcin from service, what's going on with your machine?
Mrs. Basia summarized the problem. Marcin breathed a sigh of relief.
– It's simple. When you open this front door, there will be a... on the side.
Wait a minute, wait a minute – Mrs. Basia interrupted him – so you're not coming to visit us?
– No, because I don't think it's necessary. It's a simple fix. I'll tell you everything you need to do, and you'll be able to handle it.
Mrs. Basia's voice turned icy.
I don't doubt that I'll manage. However, Mr. Krzysztof clearly said that you would come to us.
"Well, fuck," Marcin blurted out a curse. "I'm at a client's place right now, I have a disassembled machine in the middle of repairs, I can't just leave it halfway now to come to you. Especially since you can fix it yourselves..."
– At what time will you be with us? – Mrs. Basia interrupted him even more icily.
Marcin scanned the photocopier he was repairing.
– In an hour and a half – he replied resignedly.
He came as he promised. Mrs. Basia was even relatively nice. The copier was indeed fixed quickly. Marcin said goodbye to Mrs. Basia, who even gave a pale smile, and drove back to the company.
Krzysztof immediately asked him for a talk. They sat in his room. Krzysztof pulled some paper out of a drawer and gave it to Marcin.
"What is this?" Marcin asked indignantly, his gaze sweeping over the paper.
– Resignation – Krzysztof tried to keep his voice calm.
What notice? What are you, Krzych, kidding me?
Krzysztof sadly shook his head.
Unfortunately. Customers are complaining about you.
On me? I'm your best repairman!
They complain about your rudeness and disrespect. Marcin, your attitude is simply bad for our company's image.
– Kris, what are you rambling about? – Marcin got carried away by his emotions – What style? What boorishness? What happened to you? I don't recognize you at all...
– You just showed what it's all about – Krzysztof nodded – not controlling your emotions, swearing. It all negatively affects our company's image…
Marcin understood everything at that moment. Mrs. Basia. He cursed into the receiver then.
– This woman complained about me, right? – he looked Krzysztof in the eyes, expecting confirmation – That crazy broad who thinks she's the most important person in the world and everyone should jump when she plays her music? Right? And you fell for it, Krzysztof? I don't recognize you. It's impossible…
Marcin crumpled the resignation letter into a ball and threw it on the table. Without a word, he stood up and started walking towards the door.
"If you leave now, it'll be job abandonment!" Krzysztof shouted after him. "Termination for cause!"
Marcin left without even turning around.
* * *
Conclusions
Could this situation have been avoided? Of course! By knowing DISC behavior styles.
Marcin is a person with a dominant C style. Precise, scrupulous, an expert in his field, insightful, but also unenthusiastic. At the same time, Marcin also has – though to a lesser extent – a representation of style D. This makes him focused on the task rather than its social aspects. He can sometimes say something that might offend others, which Marcin felt was completely neutral, normal, and certainly not rude. The representation of style D in Marcin's profile also makes it difficult for him to compromise; he believes he is always right, and people who don't see this are simply unintelligent.
Unfortunately, for this specific case, the typical Style D is Mrs. Basia. Directive, unyielding, clearly formulating expectations, focused on quick action, immediate fulfillment of her expectations, and intolerant of being disregarded or any behavior she perceives as rude and disrespectful.
Conflicts between DISC styles
When two people with a strong D style meet, it's like two alpha males meeting (even if both people are women). Conflict is inevitable. The natural need of D is to dominate and act according to their own rules, which others must accept. Of course, no person with a strong D will accept the imposition of a style of action imposed by another person. D sets their own priorities and how to achieve them, and no one will order them around. That's why an agreement between Marcin and Ms. Basia was so difficult to reach. Both believed they were right, and neither initially wanted to submit. Marcin eventually gave in – but on his own terms („I'll come when I'm done”), but on the way, he managed to offend Ms. Basia (a curse), which for her was a sign of disrespect and contempt. And she couldn't let that go. As a typical, „pure” D, she had to show who ultimately ruled. That's why she complained to Krzysztof about Marcin.
The S style's holy peace
Krzysztof, in turn, is a typical representative of the S style – calm, patient, understanding, practically a dream boss, but only for those who can appreciate it. An S boss is a democratic boss who trusts people and relies on them. They don't stand over your head, breathe down your neck, or ask when you'll finish a given task. They are a buddy boss, somewhat invisible, not getting in employees„ way. But woe to anyone who doesn't appreciate such a golden boss and tries to deceive them, take advantage of them, or abuse their trust. If an S is disappointed even once, there won't be a second time. At the same time, individuals with a dominant S style are ideal partners – though it's difficult to talk about pure partnership here – for individuals with a dominant D style. S are excellent employees led by D, ideal assistants, reliable executors of orders and tasks formulated by D. Behind this excellent fit of the D leadership role and the S executive role lies mainly a perhaps trivial reason: S likes, above all else, what Maryla Rodowicz sang about being ”the most sacred in the world: holy peace...„. For the sake of holy peace, a person with a dominant S style is willing to agree to many things. They dislike conflicts, tension, and unpleasant situations, and try to resolve them immediately. They quickly assess costs and losses. Who is more important? Very often, for S, the person with greater authority is more important, in this case, the client. ”The customer is king," and the employee must adapt to this principle and not cause problems. If an S type concludes that a specific person is the source of their problems and lack of holy peace, they will either avoid that person, try to influence them, or eliminate them from their environment in some other way.
Future solution
Would knowing each other's DISC styles have allowed the characters in this story to avoid conflicts? Probably yes. Of course, it's difficult to expect us to give all our clients the MaxieDISC® test and know how to modify our behavior towards each of them. However, it should be noted that each of the styles has its characteristic behaviors. Knowing them, one can assume with a high degree of probability what style is dominant for a given person and modify their behavior accordingly. That is why it is so important, especially for people who deal with the company's external clients, to undergo training on MaxieDISC® styles.
How did the „Dark Serviceman” story end? Fortunately, Krzysztof did not fire him for cause; the gentlemen reached a mutual agreement. Marcin found a job where he doesn't have to travel to clients. He repairs equipment on-site at the service center. Drivers or clients themselves bring the equipment to him. However, someone else handles accepting orders and customer service.
In turn, Krzysztof managed to hire a serviceman with the CSD behavioral style – an expert in copiers, who enjoys „tinkering with machines,” is thorough, insightful, and careful, avoids conflict, and agrees with customers during conversations, while being more dynamic than Marcin. Mrs. Basia is delighted with him.
