The Infantile Enterprise

 I guess I'm one of those people who prefers the world a little less needy.  

I don't mean in a giving sort of way, but more in an organizational intelligence sort of way.

I find being bombarded by continual requests for my opinion on the services which I have received is ... well, there's a spot in line about a dozen spaces beyond "irritated" - a little short of "causing blinding rage" but definitely ahead of GFY.  That would be a directive to proceed away from this particular space and perform an impolite operation upon yourself.  Preferably with a jackhammer and power washer.  If you get the drift there.

But what, you wonder, has set me off this time?  I did a bit of in-box cleanout, where a particular vendor - that is, the word we now use instead of saying "I buy things from them" - they're a vendor, because they choose - in their choice of words - to provide me things and services.  And let me tell you, I am of a certain age which does recall the prior definition of what it meant when you said you were going to "service" someone.  That is, those of us who prefer a bit of precision in the language, to serve someone is to assist them in fulfilling a particular objective - whether that's to obtain and consume a good meal or a new pair of shoes or a functional automobile, or ... well, you get the idea.  And to "service" someone is to perform ... well, an intimate operation upon/with them.  

Yeah, sort of the F in GFY.  Now you get my drift.

But I'm confronted with the "please take our survey" nearly every place I call when I'm working.  These organizations desperately want to know what I think about the person I just spoke with.  And yeah, I'm almost always complimentary to even the most clueless person I end up dealing with because frankly I do not know if their incompetence was due to their own failings, the flaws in the training they may have received, the flaws in the systems which they have been provided to do the job, or if they just didn't give a flying ... well, fart.  The Other F.

So I try to be nice.  But when I'm asked "hey, how was our pick up service?" by an organization I've not yet dealt with, or "thanks for joining our new service" when I never chose to do that, yeah, you can just F off.  I'm old school.  I regard the highest compliment for a job well done is to request a repeat.  

There's a fellow I've come to know through frequent stops at his restaurant.  He is an absolute delight.  And I very much enjoy spending time there.  And I find him a very funny and enjoyable person.  A good person.  And after all of that, there's the food.  He's a fantastic chef.  Yes, he's not a "cook" or a "restaurant owner" - he does those jobs, but he's about as much a cook as I am a brain surgeon.  I can tell you where the brain can be found in about 25% of the humans I deal with on a regular basis, but he's so much more than a "cook".  The food he makes is ... well, I'm dealing with saliva overload just thinking about his food.  Which I have not had in some time because his restaurant has been closed due to other circumstances beyond his control.  That is, he's focusing on that which he can control, like so many small business owners are doing right now, and I get that.  

But the best feedback I can give him about his service and his food is to keep going back.  As often as I can.  Because that is, by all the tools I've ever learned to use, the most effective compliment I can give.  I return.  And I bring friends with me who also enjoy his cooking.  And so we tell everyone about him.  

And when I find myself annoyed by a particular needy service provider who wants to know what's the deal, yeah, I try to avoid that place.  Or I just ignore their whiny requests for feedback.  If they keep asking, keep annoying me, and keep being a pain in the ... lower rear quadrant, as they say, I will find others who do that which they also do, so I can leave them behind.  

Trust your people.  Trust that they're doing what you've trained and asked them to do.  And keep on keeping on.