I’ve heard it said before that politeness is the grease on the wheels of a civil society. While I can never remember who said that quote, or whom they adapted it from, I feel it’s more true as technology progresses.
With email, voicemail, faxes, telephones and so on, the ability to give into our impulses and forget our manners. As much as it might seem very basic to express this, it’s a point that we’re all constantly forgetting. You’re always more likely to get help if you’re polite. As much as the blustering people think their way is better, they will never get the same quality of service as a polite person. That applies in big companies just the same as it does in small restaurants.
Take IT. Sadly, IT is the sad child of the corporate world in many instances. People don’t call IT because they’re happy, they normally call when something’s wrong. And while they didn’t cause our computer to crash, they get all of our frustration.
With any job, there is a latitude available to the employee. The employee can do what is required, or go beyond the requirements. Only kindness gets them to go beyond the requirements for you.
So, the next time you’re in a tense situation, take the extra time to be polite. While it’s not easy, you mind find your problems being fixed when you didn’t think they could be solved at all.
Originally posted on June 6, 2006 @ 8:51 pm
