I am a docent at a museum where it’s common for docents to help with each other’s tours.
Today I was at the museum and I noticed that my colleague made a small mistake while giving a tour, so I correct them, as politely as possible (I can accidentally come off as rude sometimes, but was making my best effort not to) and they return to their tour and I think nothing of it. Then they pull me aside at the end of the day and our conversation goes a bit like this; "Good job today, but I wanted to talk about when you corrected me. We DON’T do that. If someone makes a mistake you talk to them in private at the end of the day. When you corrected me, I was embarrassed. It threw me off."
I was a bit confused, because other docents had corrected me during tours before (albeit when I looked to them for help) and have added on to my tours, but I understood because I also am a bit embarrassed when I get corrected, but I would rather be corrected than give wrong information, so I assumed they were the same.
I apologized, and they said it was fine because I’m new, but their tone was pretty harsh, and they really stressed that I shouldn’t correct them during a tour.
I’m sure that whatever the mistake was, it was not going to ruin the experience for the tour. By correcting her in front of the group, you negatively impacted her status as an authority on the subject. The conversation should have been held privately or at least away from the tour group, there was no reason to embarrass her like that. It is one thing if you ask for help but, it is an entirely different thing if someone corrects you in front of others.
YTA. It was not a life of death situation so, it could have waited.
Light YTA. Its rude to do that in front of a group, just like he they said. It makes them look dumb in public. Clearly, there are exceptions, like if they said: “Here is our Pearl Harbor scene, showing how America launched an attack from here on an unsuspecting Japan” But if the mistake is like.. “The Japanese lost 27 planes in the attack” and the real number is 29, then just tell them later alone, like they said.
Its general politeness not to correct a co worker in front of a group. (again, there are exceptions, like if the mistake isn’t fixed RIGHT NOW something bad will happen) Pull them aside and tell them 1on1.
I’m leaning towards NAH cause I don’t think this whole thing is a big deal. You just have to keep in mind, that if your colleague is doing a tour, and you correct something they say publicly mid tour, then the tour guests may lose trust on your colleague. That could bring a bad vibe to the entire tour. In general, you have to be careful to not do anything that may harm your colleagues’ reputations or undermine their “authority”. If you have a correction you need to make, it’s usually better to address that behind closed doors, not in front of clients/customers.
YTA to do that in front of guests. It undermines anything else they yell then in the remainder of the tour. It’s better to correct them afterwards or in private.
I agree. I’d feel very uncomfortable if I were part of that tour group. I’d also spend the rest of the tour wondering if the guide was making any other mistakes.
Yta … The key is when you looked for help versus correcting someone in public. Even if you had to pull them aside for a second and say excuse me I needed to ask you a question and then pulled them to the side and corrected them ,that would have given them time to say “oh by the way earlier I said blah blah blah when Actually I realize I made an error”
Hey we all make mistakes, and the fact that you’re here means that you do care. I think I might if I were you pull them aside and just have a brief conversation. Just let him know that it won’t happen again, and you are very sorry if you made them feel uncomfortable that was not your intention. Sometimes showing someone you actually care makes it easier in the long run.
I’ve been the museum tour guide getting corrected by another in the middle of a tour. It can always wait until later and they’re always TA.
YTA
It is neither professional nor polite to criticize in public.
YTA for correcting a coworker in front of people like that.
Gentle YTA. You’re new, and this is a learning experience. Always important to correct someone privately. Which I’m sure you’ll do from here on in. Don’t sweat it, just do better next time.
YTA because it’s unprofessional and embarrassing to your colleague.