“I don’t want to do anything
that’s going to further provoke
someone,” he says. “They can only
get so mad or be so rude if I keep
my cool. I let them vent. You can
only fight back with logic.”
5
You Don’t Show Me
Basic Respect
Edison Salinas also works in a popular restaurant. He believes he’s
witnessed just about every type of
behavior from his clients, on both
sides of the spectrum. “I’ve been in
this business for 14 years,” Salinas
says. “The only thing you’re looking
for is mutual respect.”
Salinas says he’s often treated better by blue-collar workers
than white-collar workers. “It’s
funny that the blue-collar workers
often show more respect than the
white-collar types. My white-collar
customer may come taking up two
seats with the attitude ‘I drive a
Mercedes 2 class, so this is what I
want and I want it right now.’ They
might start ordering things that
aren’t even on the menu because
they’re accustomed to owning
their environment. But the blue-
to do isn’t enough motivation for
you, then you may want to think
about the consequences—especially
because you never really know
who’s watching, listening or even
videotaping, warns Gary A. Smith,
senior partner and cofounder of the
Ivy Planning Group, a management-consulting and training firm.
Behavior you think is in the private
sphere can quickly become public.
Smith believes technology is
making it tougher to have what is
commonly thought of as a private
life. “[Nowadays,] when you start
to interact with service professionals, whether it’s a waiter in the
restaurant or someone shining your
shoes, there’s a certain decorum
about the way you must carry yourself in public unless you’re prepared
to be judged harshly,” he says.
“You simply can’t be these
drastically different people anymore, primarily because senior
executives now are public figures.
You could be at your son’s little-league game and start yelling at
an umpire, and the next thing
you know, you’re on You Tube,”
says Smith. “You don’t have the
luxury of assuming you’re in a safe
“It really does come back to treating someone the way you
want to be treated.” Gary A. Smith, Ivy Planning Group
collar guy might come in dressed
in jeans or a jumpsuit … sees a
bunch of guys dressed in suits and
may be a little intimidated by the
environment. So they’re on their
best behavior and manners are on
full display,” Salinas says. “Basic
manners go a long way. What you
want is to deal with someone that
respects your profession. Don’t
treat me like a servant.”
And if behaving well outside the
office because it’s the right thing
environment where you really can
let your hair down. Your behavior
anywhere represents your firm.”
Regardless of the professional
consequence, Smith says there’s a
more basic reason for treating others with common courtesy. “There
should never be a situation where
you are belittling people or looking
down at someone because of their
station,” he says. “It really does
come back to treating someone the
way you want to be treated.”
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