THE CARAVAN Volume 7, Issue 5, May 2008


SERVICE WITH A SMILE

Every once and a while we are served by someone who obviously does not want to be doing what they are doing. You know what I mean, you just want a coffee or you just want some information and all you get back is attitude. Then of course if you are not well versed in The Model you give some attitude back and then the “dance” begins.

You see, in my world and in the world of The Model, nothing is wrong. I understand that some people honestly are unhappy with what they are doing and where they are in their journey. I am not excusing bad behaviour and I am not excusing poor service. What I am saying is that I am the only one who has control of me and I do not have control over where (mentally) that other person is.

Like you, I don’t appreciate attitude, however, I do understand that there are some people who do not give the level of commitment to an interaction that I would give. All I can do is give my best “service with a smile” back to the other person (no matter what kind of attitude I get).

Great customer service can only be given by someone who is happy and comfortable with who they are and what they are doing. So, again, according to The Model, the only person that I have control over is me.

I will still generally get what I need out of the interaction because I will be assertive when necessary to get what I want, but during that interaction I will not try to give the other person a lesson on customer service. They are not interested and it would only create another dance that would not be productive.

In The Model I celebrate your right to have a bad day. I will let go of the small stuff. I will tell the other person what I need from the interaction, but I will not tell them what they are doing wrong. And if they require something of me in the interaction, I will put their attitude aside and as long as I do not lose my sense of self I will comply with what they need to create the balance and attain cooperative action.

Once we set our ego behind us we generally can’t get hurt by how the other person is acting in the specific interaction. I leave you with this; instead of letting the other person’s attitude ruin your day, concentrate on never becoming that person.

We change the world one person at a time by how we act, not by how we react. As long as you’re giving your “service with a smile” no one can talk about you in a negative way.

Peace



Ted



MOM’S TWO CENTS
By Jordin Williamson

PARENTING WITH A SMILE

I was at the corner store the other day and I heard the clerk ask the lady in line ahead of me if she was enjoying being a Grandmother. I was a little surprised by her answer.

From my observations of the family in line I have concluded that the Grandmother was the mother of the teenage girl getting the hotdog and the baby was the son of the teenager. Do you follow? The baby was approximately 12 months old and the teenager looked to be about 17. From their conversation I learned that they were all living in the same house.

My other observations told me that they did not have a lot of money as I over heard the discussion about the food they were choosing. I can only imagine that raising your teenage daughter and her infant son must be a challenge emotionally, physically and financially, however, her answer to the question threw me for a loop.

She said “no”.

“No?” How can having a child around not be enjoyable and who makes a comment like that in front of the child? The Grandmother did not elaborate much on her answer as she stood with a disapproving glare in her eyes. I understand that kids can be a handful. I also understand that she now has more than one child to be responsible for. I also know that the baby did not ask to be in this situation. If her response was that negative to the clerk I would hope she would not be that negative to the child.

Our job as parents, grandparents, and caregivers is to make children feel like the sun rises and sets on them; like they are the jam to our peanut butter. We have a responsibility to make sure that children grow up confident, loved and appreciated. We have a responsibility to parent with a smile. No matter how frustrated we may be; no matter how crazy they may act; and no matter how tired we may feel we must parent with a smile.

Our children deserve nothing less!

Quote of the Month
Submitted by Brodi Mouradian

If your teeth are clenched and your fists are clenched, your lifespan is probably clenched.
- Adabella Radici


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