No offense, but I wouldn’t have done that if I knew I wasn’t getting paid.
Roger Hatch
An experience helping a neighbor when he was teenager led to a lifetime of service for Roger Hatch.
“When I was about 19 this girl in our street had her dog run over and she was in pieces. I wanted to fix it all, bring the dog back, say the right thing, you know. But then I realized that she needed to let off some steam, say how she felt. I was compelled to listen to her lament the loss of Fido, and not just because I didn’t hit the brakes quickly enough to miss him.”
After paying his fine, Hatch went to work for ‘Good Ears, No Answers,’ a help group that exclusively listens to people with grievances. “We can’t give advice, we’re not psychiatrists, but saying ‘uh huh’ and ‘mmm’ are soft skills, you can’t teach those to everyone.”
Most calls are from people missing a deceased person, pet or tree, but Hatch listens to all kinds of grievances. “Your pants don’t fit any more, you ran out of your favorite ice-cream, you didn’t get Wordle on your first try, to someone those are a big deal.”
Hatch never thought he’d have to professionally listen to his own boss, but one day its founder, Marty Higgs came into the office clearly distressed. “Marty was ranting about receivership then crying about having his accounts frozen. I did what I’m trained to do, I listened.”
Thinking it was role-play training, Hatch just went with it. “I was doing really well, hadn’t said a word for six hours, but then the FBI busted in. And then I found out I wouldn’t be getting paid for any of it. I went home and recorded my grievance to listen to later so I can help myself heal.”
