Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Everybody's Stupid, Somewhere

Everybody is stupid, somewhere. Ain't that the truth. That should humble us all. When you go to the auto mechanic, you do your best to find one that is trustful, knowledgable and won't sell you something you really don't need. When you go to the doctor, you expect that they will take the time to explain to you exactly what your condition is. You may be afraid to ask certain questions because, while to you they may seem major, you think that to the doctor they may seem mundane or infantile.

You should always leave with more answers than you have questions. And you should always want to come back.

When you are the expert someone seeks, you need to make the impression on them that they can ask you anything, they will always get treated with respect, they will get a straight answer and they never have to say they're sorry. When assisting customers I consider every issue to be of equal importance. Teaching a customer how to plug their computer in is just as important as helping them to remove malware. Nothing should be below what you would consider your caliber of skill and training.

And if you ever start to think to yourself' "I can't believe how stupid this person is", remember they are the reason you are here. They are the reason you have this job, eat and can play Candy Crush on your unlimited data plan.

My father understood people better than anyone I ever knew. His job was exactly that-to understand people. He did that job everyday for 35 years at the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations. As a little boy, I remember one day an impression that he made on me that I still keep in the front of my mind at all times. It remains a core component of my work ethic and philosophy.

Scene 1; Interior, subway car.

Solomon and his father sit closely together, reading the Daily News. They are both reading the same article about a ring of criminals who got caught.

SOLOMON

Dang dad, there are a lot of desperate people in this city. They do a lot of stupid things. That's messed up.

DAD

Just remember-those people put food on your plate.


Solomon finds himself in a daydream being served in a very posh restaurant by hairy thugs in undershirts and ski masks.....