A Call for Professionalism v2.0: When People Get Downright Bitchy

A couple of months ago, I hired the services of a company called International Education Specialists (Inter-Ed) to work on my applications for foreign studies in the UK. At first everything was going well until things didnt turn out right. They got me an offer from a prestigious university but I missed the opportunity of going because of my parents' late decision to not let me go. They wanted me to go to US instead. So I informed Inter-Ed. However, as a person who wants to do a lot of things, finalizing the course I want to pursue became very difficult for me that my decision changed twice. But there was no processing of papers on their part. They only had to bear with the couple of emails I sent them to inform them of my change in course. So I don't think it was so bad. Annoying and laughable but not so bad. However, the lady, the boss, who I was corresponding with still seemed to be hung over from my inability to go to UK. So most of her subsequent replies to my mails were downright rude, insulting and unprofessional, perhaps fearing for herself that after processing papers or giving me another offer, I'll change my mind again, rendering their efforts futile. The last one being, "Oh please, you're a graduate student. Not high school. Act like one!"

It's such a shame that she's the boss of their company. Someone so unprofessional treats her fickle clients like that. She must work on her manners. She's educated and all but perhaps she was absent during those days when vaues and manners were being taught in class. In an attempt to respond to her utterly rude response, this is what I ended up with:

Ma'am, again, I understand your impatience. But for one, I don't think I could be blamed completely for this. I know this conversation wouldn't be happening had I gone to UK. But I didn't. And it seems you're still hung over what happened that for every decision I made after that incident, you already seemed to be worried that I will change my mind again. Understandable. And for that, you fear that you might have to work on it again then in the end I would render your efforts futile. Again, understandable. I know that for you, this is already an extreme case of fickleness... and in your words, so high school. But for me, it's not. It's beyond that. I don't decide simply because I fancy one over the other at a particular moment. Nor am I immature enough to decide on something. Having to decide which one to pursue is a very difficult task for me and when you ask me to just make up my mind, you don't understand that you're asking for something big. I am a person who wants to achieve so many things and every field I seemed to have considered is really something I wanted to do at least for some time in the past. I didn't expect for this to happen. If having to listen to me change my decision so many times is tough for you, that difficulty doesn't compare to the difficulty I had to go through every single time for the past 5 months or so. At least, I believe I deserved some understanding and consideration for that.

For someone who has been in this business for such a long time, I was at least hoping you to be more professional, more lenient, and more forgiving. But your tone and manner of responding (the incessant use of bolding, underlining and most especially !!!) prove otherwise and it's frustrating. I am the client, admittedly a fickle one. However, I was hoping this matter would be handled in a much better and more acceptable manner. With more patience. I truly don't appreciate being treated this way. My fickleness and the way I have been corresponding may have been high school type but responding the same way is stooping to that level of high school-ness. While I may have changed my tone before, I don't think that it warranted the same tone from you. After all, we both know you're a professional. Please don't prove me wrong.