Do Good Manners Still Count?
When it comes to customer courtesy in business, not everyone thinks as you do. Here’s a story of what happened to me in an airport. Listen and e-mail me what you think about it.
My suitcase was just about to enter the scanning machine. The airport security guard monitoring the screen stopped the conveyor belt, called over another guard, and whispered something. Silently, the new guard changed the sign to “This Position Closed.” I looked at him incredulously. I was right there ready for business. And there was only one other person behind me. So I half-asked, half-signaled with my shoulders, “Well, can we go through?”
This surprised him. “No,” he mumbled. He looked aggravated.
As I walked away, the guard muttered under his breath but loud enough for me to hear, “If I was going to let you go through what would I have changed the sign for?”
And I thought, “We may breathe the same air, but we don’t live on the same planet.” I wondered if, when he was a child, his family showed him enough respect. How easy, polite, and respectful it would have been if he’d simply told us what was going on. I guess he didn’t know what you know — that good manners make for good business.
I’d love to hear what you think about manners in business. Are manners too old fashioned for the 21st century or do they still count?
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October 24th, 2007 at 3:52 pm
Hi Doug,
Yes, manners are such a vital part of business that they will never become old fashioned. Some people dont think about this and it’s causing them a lot of business!