Article #171 Diligence and Duty

Also related to honesty are the values of diligence and duty or having a good work ethic-giving your best effort at your job. It was probably easier in the days of small business owners because how you ran your business reflected on the satisfaction of your customers and the success financially of your product. Be it car repair, salesmen, or plumbers, in the good old days you could trust their word. (Photo of my dad working on the railroad.)

Nowadays, it seems to me the focus is on selling any product is outlandish claims, few warrantees or inflated bills and mediocre backup for poor service. Although there are exceptions, good customer service seems to be a thing of the past. Every once in a while I am pleasantly surprised with a clerk or salesman who is genuinely interested in my satisfaction with their product. If I feel I can trust someone, they will certainly get my business.

Some salespeople, clerks, secretaries and supervisors are overwhelmed with their own lives. Going the extra mile in customer service is a thing of the past. Entering a store or office, you may discover yourself waiting for hours literally for your appointment, while you watch disinterested salesclerks or receptionists talking on their cell phones or texting. This seems to be the norm many times. What a pleasant surprise to be greeted with a smile, courtesy and pleasantries.

I always have to laugh how young people greet their elders (that’s us retired people). The other day upon arriving at my favorite computer store, a young twenty-year-old male clerk with “Hi, pretty lady”, greeted me! Sounds nice maybe if I were another twenty-year-old chick; but being a seventy-year-old grandmother, I didn’t know how to react. So, I ignored his greeting, rather than comment to him on showing some respect for his elders. A young receptionist at my doctor’s office also has greeted me in the past with “dear” or “sweetie” which made me feel like a geriatric patient. Then there are the terms “Sr. Citizen” and “elderly.” Maybe part of treating customers well is respect, another value missing in our society at times.

How many workers with computer access or their own electronic devices spent their work hours answering emails or surfing the Internet rather than doing the work they were hired to do or giving their best efforts to their job?