Firebrand
I’ve long preached that every thing we do builds or erodes our brand.
Well, our local windscreen washer just annihilated his.
All compassion has been cauterised from my heart.
Never again will I feel charitable to his vocation.
The Iceman Cometh
Not-So-Good Friday. The wife and I idle at lights.
Ahead of us, wild eyes, slit mouth and scarecrow arms tell us this washer ain’t saving for Easter eggs.
He spots us and closes.
We wave our hands, shake our heads and mouth NO THANKS.
Ignoring all, he jets foul fluid on our screen and starts lathering.
Fon lowers the window so he can hear our shouts.
The dogs rush forward.
Ugly Scene
Our combined protest registers.
The washer halts mid scrub.
He leans down, screams ‘ENJOY THE MESS!’ in our faces and moves to the next car.
In passing, he expertly dings our duco with the hilt of his blade.
Finally, the lights change. We reach home with a diminished view of our suburb.
Cuts Both Ways
We have a house and car; we’re rich beyond compare.
Yet we’ve been violated.
The night feels hostile. We deadlock doors and leave lights on for the first time in ages.
World Vision, Amnesty International, The Salvation Army, Riding for the Disabled, the old bloke with the dog on Brunswick Street. We’ve long supported them all.
To the washer, however, only our latest (vile) act counts.
Despite every good, kind thing we’ve ever done, to him we’re maggots.
We’re as damaged in his eyes as he is in ours.
So it cuts both ways.
Grim Lesson
We sleep badly.
I write to get this off my mind, but there’s also a lesson.
Each day and every interaction is a fresh chance to win or lose a heart.
The past is dead, the future a theory.
In business, as in life, all we have is now.
Paul Hassing, Founder & Senior Writer, The Feisty Empire
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Well, I was going to keep my fingers shut so we could experience another SBO Blog first…it would be a first wouldn’t it? No Comments?
But then I thought ‘Ship’!, they’ve just renewed his contract…we can’t have that on an otherwise Olympian Record ;-P
Dude! All I can say is that that guy was lucky he didn’t do that to my mate Bill. Bill grew up in ‘Para-bluddy-matta’, and he has the scars to prove it…lots of ‘em…
For his 21st Birthday we got him an engraved aluminium baseball bat. He still carries it next to his driver-seat to this day. I’d best not tell you what’s engraved on the ‘business’ end of it. Suffice it to say that it too, is no longer in ‘as new’ condition.
Notwithstanding this, Bill too have learned that though revenge may be sweet, the taste doesn’t last long, and that it too, cuts both ways.
I can’t but wonder how many ‘business people’ are in fact interested in winning hearts? Perhaps the adage ‘all we have is now’ is part of the problem?
If I won a heart, it’s past…if I’m going to win a heart, it’s theory…perhaps in a world of dead and theoretical hearts whizzing by, the only thing that matters in ‘the now’ is do I have a heart?
Clearly, if most folks find it challenging to remember to turn the lights off when they leave a room, remembering one’s heart may be a big ask?
But it’s ok, only the entire planet and everyone and everything in it depends on it…doesn’t it? Oh! That’s right…I forgot. It’s everyone else that’s the problem isn’t it?
Cheers
Stephen G
You are so reliable, Stephen! Thank you for spending two pennies in my social vacuum.
The dearth of comments suggests this post’s business content is a bit thin.
Or maybe folk are simply still on holidays.
Bill’s bat sounds fearsome. Fonnie and I are amazed that some road rager hasn’t taken out our washer already. Perhaps there’s something about being ‘trapped’ in your own vehicle that disempowers.
Unlike the bat, your words, as always, are warmly welcome. Thanks, Mate!
Hi Gents.
I read this post yesterday. I don’t know that the content is ‘thin’ Paul…I personally just shook my head in disbelief, lied to myself that if it was me I’d get out and give the bloke a good flogging, immediately felt bad for thinking that violence would have made the situation better somehow, and realised it is just another problem I can’t fix.
Some days, I am impotent rage personified. While you make a fair point that this guy isn’t doing his business any favours, I reckon we’re all best off letting it go, writing it off and refusing to concede to the lowest common denominators.
And at the risk of offending an entire industry, I doubt window cleaners at traffic lights rarely consider anything much in long-term mindsets, much less their business relationships.
But I’d at least consider installing a super load air horn in my car just in case it happened again…
Damn fine conclusion, Stephen H. It does seem futile spending our only ‘now’ trying to redress a host of shabby ‘thens’.
Best to press on. Besides, you never know who you’re dealing with, as this tale attests.
Thank you for playing.