I was talking with a friend recently and the conversation was centered on the way so many people seem to be content with not doing their best.
We agreed that applies to almost everything these days. Rather than doing a good job, many people seem OK with “just doing a job.” It’s like, why bother doing something well when you can skate by with less?
Not that people wanting to do everything as well as possible has completely vanished, but I think it’s obvious that such a mindset and approach are a whole lot less common than they used to be. Nowadays, society is all about minimal effort – and maximum entitlement.
The man I was talking with often refers to his appreciation of excellence, but he also laments its rarity.
You know what he’s getting at. Whether it’s at a store, restaurant or anywhere else where members of the human race mingle, it’s apparent that minimal effort is often all that’s being practiced and anything more is almost surprising.
You’ve seen it: The check stand clerk who finishes a personal call on their cell phone before helping you, even showing body language as if you’re interrupting or bothering them as you patronize the very business from which they draw a paycheck.
Or a post office worker who walks extremely slowly away from the counter just as you approach (clearly with intent) causing a transaction that should take about 47 seconds take four minutes instead.
Or the library worker who (without making eye contact with you) proceeds to “check in” a stack of about seven books while you (as patiently as possible) stand about three feet away waiting to check out a single DVD.
Those are only a few random examples (and not indictments of entire companies or industries), but it’s all so silly; the phone call can wait, the slow stroll is rude and the books will still be there in a few moments. Incorporating a microscopic amount of excellence (and common sense) would create a situation where both the customer and other stuff were handled in a timely, friendly (and efficient) manner.
Several years ago, my wife and I dealt with a prime example of in-excellence involving setting up phone and internet service. The frustrating scenario lasted about six weeks.
To make an incredibly complicated, convoluted and downright aggravating story short, it began with making several appointments when a technician was supposed to show up at our house and repeatedly losing entire days waiting while none did. Then we were shipped two modems instead of the singular unit we needed.
Then, to top it all off, we received a first bill that was about a buck-fifty short of $400 (of course including charges for both modems and a shipping charge for each).
Really? Come on now.
Thankfully, my wife made a call (about the 13th in a ridiculously long series) and the giant sum on the bill was vastly reduced to where it belonged.
It’s so sad. I mean, how hard is it to do what you do to the best of your abilities rather than simply go through the motions in between the times you grab your “device” and examine yet another frivolous message?
Honestly, “extra” effort really isn’t the issue. Look at it this way: If you’re at work or doing anything else involving interaction with other people, and you’re there for a certain number of hours, you’ll be there those same hours whether your effort is superior or poor.
So why wouldn’t it be the former?
I always like to look at the Biblical angle to societal issues, because that’s where the real truth lies. And what the Bible says is to do your best at all times, even working as if for the Lord Himself rather than mankind (there are a lot of verses that illustrate that point, including Colossians 3:23-24, 1 Corinthians 10:31 and Proverbs 13:4).
Anyway, while I wish things were different regarding this subject, I know this is probably a permanent situation.
Too bad. I like the sound of living in a society based on doing one’s best, and it must have been nice when that was more the norm.