An incident not very long ago made me think about how we do lots of things and we don't always realize some of the consequences - and in the conversation I was having with my hubby we came up with 3 main things we should do. Here they are:
1. Be patient & polite while driving: don't tailgate, don't get in front of a driver and push your breaks, don't make rude comments or gestures etc.
Beside the obvious safety reasons - there is a secondary one. The car is driven by one of your customers: present or future customer, but your customer nonetheless. Imagine yourself rushing to a meeting, cutting the face of a driver or stealing his/her parking spot just to get out of the car and face the driver: your customer coming to the same meeting. Word of mouth can work both ways and it is much harder to erase a bad experience from somebody's memory!
2. Be patient & polite with strangers.
You never know who that might be (remember: they can be your customer) and being nice is always better. For you and for them. Treat everyone with a smile and they will carry the smile further.
3. Be patient & polite with your friends and family.
This one we tend to overlook a lot. Family and friends are supposed to understand we had a bad they, aren't they? Well... yes, they are supposed to be understanding, however it is hardly fair to treat them badly just because we had a bad day. It is much easier to have a shoulder to cry on - and someone to chat with... in a polite manner. Snapping at our friend won't right the wrong; biting off our kid's head won't fix our problem.
Is it hard to be patient & polite? Absolutely! Is it worth it? Absolutely!
What is your take on the subject? I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
