An interpersonal communication problem happened to me during an event where I was a waiter. My responsibilities were to handle customer request on the event floor and serve VIPs at a club lounge during the event.
During a coffee break when there was a lot of activity happening in the event hall and club lounge. Due to the excess manpower, the supervisor assigned an additional part-timer who was inexperienced.
During the event, I had to assist the event’s organizers and serve customers concurrently, resulting in me having to visit the bar multiple times to collect the orders. Unexpectedly, the supervisor in charge of the VIPs gave me a list of orders that had to be served urgently. The main problem in communication breakdown was that I simply agreed and handed over the responsibility to Jerry – which he did not execute. Shortly after, my supervisor gave me a serious scolding in front of everyone for not serving the incident. I felt ashamed of myself and refrained from explaining.
Looking back at the event, I felt that there were many instances where I could have prevented the incident. With the further evaluation of the peer feedback provided, I should have better communicated with my supervisor on my tasks and whereabouts instead of replying hastily. Furthermore, I should be honest to my supervisor as the more transparent the work environment, the less communication breakdown hence a happier environment leading to a more productive workplace. I could have taken the effort to gather the supervisor and part-timer while serving other customers, as this will encourage the supervisor to delegate the tasks directly to the available party. Additionally, when communicating with other part-timers, I should be more firm in my tone to emphasize the urgency that I want to communicate across. Correspondingly, I should have taken the initiative to check back on the progress to ensure that the job is done. This would enable effective communication between the part-timers and supervisor and prevent a similar situation from occurring again.
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Jansen's Blog 
Hi Jansen,
I understand your frustrations and encountered similar situations in my previous work experiences. To address this issue, you might wish to communicate with your supervisor on the fact that you are shouldering workload beyond your abilities.
In the case where language barriers persist, you may also wish to seek help from your colleagues who are able to translate your message to your supervisor accurately. In doing so, this will help to resolve any misunderstandings and ensure that everyone is able to work well as a team.
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Dear Jansen
The scenario is described fairly but the main communication problem needs to be presented more clearly. Was your problem with the lazy part-timer, the demanding supervisor or the SOP? where did you go wrong? in keeping quiet and receiving the scolding, or feeling ashamed that you were scolded in front of others?or, that you did not defend yourself? or did you feel that you were not firm enough in delegating work? Think a bit about these questions if you wish to revise your post.
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