2008 December | Tell Hetrick

Archive for December, 2008

Resolved

Published

on December 31, 2008

. 5 Comments

In years past, one of my routine New Year’s resolutions has been to quit swearing so much.

But this year I say the hell with New Year’s resolutions. I’m tossing out this annual exercise of self-criticism cloaked in self-improvement and opting instead to congratulate myself on some of things I’ve got going for me. I’m loved. I’m a productive member of society. I have a great son and a terrific husband. I’m an American. I mix a mean Manhattan. My dog is always glad to see me.

Sure, I could exercise more and eat less. I could call my friends more often, go to church every Sunday, read all the foreign policy articles in The New Yorker, and quit sweating the small stuff.

But this year, I’m going to focus on what I’m doing right, and just try to do a little more of it.

What are you doing for New Year’s?

How simple politeness can save the day

Published

Karen McMeans

on December 24, 2008

in Communications and Workplace

. 0 Comments

Wikipedia says politeness is the application of good manners to make people relaxed and comfortable. Politeness in the workplace is especially important, because diversities in race, gender and culture can cause unproductive clashes. Politeness allows colleagues to disagree and still maintain a positive relationship.

Politeness isn’t always easy, but it can save the day. Someone once said, “Treat everyone politely, even those who are rude to you–not because they are nice, but because you are.”

As the person who answers Hetrick’s phones, I am always surprised when a salesperson is rude. One gentleman recently asked for Bruce Hetrick, and when I said he was unavailable, he asked for Bruce’s cell phone number. I told him I was not at liberty to give that out, and he shouted, “I want to talk to him NOW!” When I offered to give his number to Bruce, he hung up on me!

Before coming to Hetrick, I worked in customer service for a computer company and dealt with angry people all the time. I had many experiences in turning the other cheek. One gentleman who called was already upset. All he needed was a small rubber part. He had talked to one of our service providers, at a call center in India, and that vendor only sold the part in a package of 10 for $60. I explained that we would not be able to get the part any cheaper, but I asked whether he would take a used one, because our techs salvaged parts. He calmed down, said that would be fine, and I mailed him the part. A few weeks later, he sent me a Mont Blanc pen along with a note apologizing for his behavior and thanking me for helping him.

Even in these stressful times, politeness has not gone by the wayside. Have you got a similar story?

You say you want a resolution? Well, you know….

Published

Bruce Hetrick

on December 17, 2008

in Communications and Lifestyle

. 3 Comments

When I worked as a photographer, way back in the dark(room) ages of film and processing, I spent lots of time at my friendly neighborhood camera store.

Behind the counter, there was a black-and-white cartoon. It showed lots of people laughing hysterically. The caption said, “You want it when?”

A few years later, a sign appeared next to the cartoon. It said, “The lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency on our part.”

Only it does.

Because the advent of faxes and Fed Ex and e-mail and instant messaging and blogs and Twitter and social networking and text messaging and all the other “conveniences” too often raises expectations that we’ll all do everything instantly, spontaneously, sans thought or planning or consideration of alternatives.

I work in a world of billable hours, 30-second spots, 10-second tags, six-second-sound bites, read-on-the-fly texts, glance-and-go billboards, give-me-the-facts headlines, instant-ID logos and more.

And I regret that in such a fast-paced world, too many of us take too little time to discover and contemplate, absorb and ponder, deeply understand and simply think.

My New Year’s resolution is to think more and ad lib less.

What’s yours?