[lit-ideas] Re: Possible reason why
- From: Eternitytime1@xxxxxxx
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 14 Sep 2004 10:15:03 EDT
In a message dated 9/14/2004 8:38:38 AM Central Daylight Time,
aamago@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
Bush is ahead now despite his horrendous mismanagement of the country
because people do like him. In light of Bush's support of only the haves and
have
mores in this country, this truly says something about people.
Hi,
Yes...likeability is the key. I think that is why so many people 'like'
Edwards (at least here--he has what Arch Lustberg [who has done training for
librarians on this matter for years--to assist us with dealing with cross
patrons who want us to remove books, media looking for sensational stories,
etc.]
calls the open face (versus the neutral or closed face).
A poll I read yesterday asked people if they were in a bar, who would they
prefer as their bartender: Bush or Kerry? Guess who was chosen?
The same poll then asked people if they were in a foxhole with shooting all
around, who would they prefer to be in a foxhole with them. Bush or Kerry?
Guess who was chosen?
So, why then, did so many in that poll actually choose Bush over Kerry as
their presidental nominee? People are people and people are stupid? My
neighbor still insists that she and her kids are safer in this world because
of
Bush and his policies. It's still amazes me.
What I find intriguing, though, is that I was one of the lone voices in my
workplace who was appalled that we were going to Iraq. You would not believe,
now, how many people are going to vote for Kerry, though. That number is
growing--but it has nothing to do with Iraq and Bush's internationally reknown
skills <g>. It has to do with the economy. There is total silence when
someone else (from somewhere else) inadvertently mentions Iraq. They will not
admit that Bush was a bit quick on the trigger nor that he is a bit
inconsistent in his policies. (I really liked the piece that I think Eric
mentioned:
we are expected to be isolationists when it comes to the war but
globally-minded when it comes to outsourcing jobs. One of my other neighbors
is already
deciding that maybe he will need to go back to school and become an xray
technician as he has decided that it is one of the few jobs that cannot be
outsourced. His company is gradually sending jobs away and he has already
figured
out that it might be 'good' for the world but 'bad' for him...)
On another note: on a different list of mine, we have been talking about
how different companies have been calling their customers 'guests' and yet
their policies (esp return policies) are totally unwelcoming. (one of the
members had a horrible experience at Target as she had purchased a vacumn
cleaner
there [needing a self-propelled one], took it home, put it together, started
it--and it not only was not 'picking up', but was very difficult to move. She
looked at it and then at the box--it was a completely different item. She
took it back to Target, explained the situation and they not only told her
that she would not get her money back, but told her that she had deliberately
switched the vacumns. (why they would think she would do that for a lesser
item
was puzzling as was the question as to how if she really was trying to steal
[they accused her of that], she didn't just seal the box up again, take her
receipt and get either an exchange or her money back...) She was humiliated
and stunned--went home all upset. Her husband (big protector type-she's a
librarian, you know, and we are simply not used to that sort of thing <g>)
went to the store, then, and ended up being called a thief as well and being
told if he didn't leave that security would escort him from the building. The
store's management and then Target's CEO and other management 'team' wrote a
letter in response to her husband's letter to them and it was simply awful and
patronizing.
So, after that, we began talking about how Disney's employees (where the
term 'guest' instead of 'customer' began), would have gone overboard in making
sure that she not only got the right replacement but in being extremely
solicitious. (according to a couple of listmembers who, in previous lives, had
worked there)
In LIbraryLand, the trend began some time ago to try to get our staff to
call our patrons 'customers'. (The term 'guest' has not yet entered the
vocabulary...)
Which in a store would you prefer to be called: a guest or a customer?
In a library: a customer or a patron?
How important are such words, do you think? Does the implication really
matter in terms of service given/received? Do they change behavior, really?
In
what ways?
It's interesting to me in that my LibraryLand system has decided to have the
local Dale Carnegie Customer Service training for our staff (the survey
showed that our patrons are 95% happy with our service but we want to get to
that
100% as well as begin to look at other staff as our 'customers'.
Hoping you each have a happy day,
Marlena in Missouri
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