Are you being served?
In my KTK of June 24 I discussed the progress of my new air conditioning/ heating unit. The installer, Ryan, is so spectacular and qualified that it made me think of other experiences when employing others. Our first bid was from the largest heating company around. He offered a unit which I subsequently discovered was being discontinued, and also said our desired location, in the attic, was impossible. The second one allowed that the attic installation was possible (for an extra 7K), but no A/C with it. I found Ryan on line and read the Yelp reviews. I hired him. What he installed was better and less expensive than our dreams, And with every interaction I have been impressed with his quality work and dedication to how good he could make it for us, even though it made more work for him. And best of all he found many defects in the existing system, and fixed them!
I’m sure you all have had interactions with giant corporations like Comcast and AT&T. Corporations were chartered to serve customers, stockholders, and employees. By and large this has been forgotten. They now serve the CEOs. It is rare to have a satisfactory interaction with these entities. That said, individual employees can be wonderful and accommodating; I have encountered them.
We interact with the business world mostly via the employees who deal with the public. I love restaurants. There are servers who genuinely make one feel welcome and plenty who, though the size of a tip might be affected, make one feel that serving you is a big burden. You might call it a bad attitude. We heard Jen Hayden’s favorite group (and also friends) Truckstop Honeymoon, sing the perfect song:
Now I have to say that the greatest percentage of my interactions are good; those which are less than good stand out. I’m aware that lately my KTKs have tended toward rants, or at least ranty. This is a tough time for our country and it affects me, but there is still plenty of good, and plenty of good people.
How have your interactions been lately? Do you find that you are being served properly? I have heard stories that women are sometimes not treated well at at auto dealers, talked down to. Have you had this experience? Do you confront bad service or just change your purchasing habits?
Also, too, this is an open thread, for all possible thoughts, predictions, and rants.