The Out-Of-Placers #366 (Patreon)

This applies to many interactions in life. For example, if you're calling up tech support, or to report a problem, or whatever else, then pouring your frustrations out on the person on the other end of the phone, who had nothing to do with your problem, will just make them defensive, and not motivated to help you past the bare minimum. However, if you set up the situation so that you're a person genuinely in need, and the person on the other end is the only one who can help you, and you appreciate the time and energy they're putting in to help you solve your issue, then that activates the ol' empathy responses, and suddenly they're a whole lot more motivated to put in the effort to get your problem solved, because you appreciate the help they're giving.Plus they're probably used to just getting yelled at all day, and so the chance to actually help someone have a nice day is usually a sorely needed experience for them.