The Professional Promise

About a week and a bit ago, I wrote about promises, both keeping and breaking them, and while I can't say it was a successful post, it touched on something I wanted to talk about for a long time. Accountability and reality. Yes, we should try to keep our promises, but sometimes 'shit happens'. The thing is, when I set out to write about pinkie swears and crossing hearts and hoping to die, I knew it was going to get wordy and I would most likely need to break what I had to say up into segments. Consider this the 'promise' special of which there are two parts, this being the second.

While I certainly care about individual promises, it is the professional ones that really cause me concern, and were actually what I originally intended to write about. See, that's the funny thing about my brain, you (and I) never know where it is going to take you (and me). So, what do I have to say about professional promises? Well, gather in and pay close attention. Or don't, that's fine too.

The thing about the 'shit happens' philosophy is that it can be used with personal promises. This is because we can grant a certain amount of leeway to the people we love and, more importantly, we usually aren't paying our friends and siblings (hopefully!). These relationships often allow for a more sympathetic understanding and forgiveness is granted. When it comes to professional promises there is no room for 'shit happens' scenarios. Or, more aptly, if shit does happen, you have to deal with it in an appropriate way - there should be no coy shrugging and lame excuses.

When money is being exchanged for goods and services, a little sincerity is necessary, and repeat defaults on your word unacceptable. Yes, these business promises are less vocal. When you put money down for a pair of snowboarding boots at the ski hut, the owners don't say, "Thank you for your money, we promise not to sell your boots." While the promise is unspoken, it most certainly is there. This is when accountability comes into play. If you are a business owner and book a client in for an appointment, or have them put money down on an expensive item, you are making a promise. You are telling this client you are taking them seriously and their patronage is important to you.  

When you cancel, don't show up, or even arrive late, you are breaking that promise. You're basically throwing your steaming hot coffee you just had to stop for in their face. 

Now, let's say this client made a prepayment, or left their credit card for an accommodation, appointment, or ticket to an event. They understand the weight of the promise. They've left you money, that they earned, from working a job, that they probably hate! As customers, we know if we cancel at the last minute or simply not show up, our money will be taken, our deposits forfeited, our appointments cancelled, and credit cards charged. We understand the value of time and, in a show of good faith, we leave something, as if to say, 'Hey, I want you to keep these dollar dollar bills y'all, just to show I am not going to screw you around." 

Because that's why you leave a deposit, isn't it? Because a pinkie swear isn't going to cut it. In this day and age, business owners know good faith doesn't pay the bills, so they ensure their clients are held accountable. Hence, the deposit, or the keeping of a credit card number, or pre-authorized payment. So, what happens when it's the business owner screwing over the client? What can the client do? 

The options are limited. You can go somewhere else. Complain to the jerks who dicked you around. Demand your money back. Write a bad review. Pout a little. Or all of the above. In my opinion, owners and managers need to be held accountable, just like the little grunt workers are. If we are spending our hard earned cash money on a service or product, then we deserve to be treated fairly and actually considered. 

To be honest, I am sick and tried of the flippant, nonchalant attitude so many business owners and managers have towards their customers. These people are paying your rent and bills, they are putting food in your belly, keeping a roof over your head and your car running. Breaking professional promises should be taken seriously. It shouldn't be a weekly thing, or even a bi-weekly for that matter. Hold yourself to the same standards you expect and demand from your customers.

Don't mistake what I am saying here. I understand people get sick and unfortunate things happen, like deaths and weddings, and there are sometimes no way around cancellations. If this is the case, apologies are the first step, swiftly proceeded by doing whatever it is in your power to correct the wrong.

The point is, we've all been there. We've all been treated like we don't matter. Been put off by a business because of poor services or unreliable products. It doesn't feel good. It's aggravating. Those professional promises are important. You might not openly say, "I promise" but it's implied and when you break them there are repercussions. It might be a lost customer, a withdrawn deposit, or bad word of mouth. If you are shrugging and saying, "Who cares?" then managing isn't for you because you don't understand the importance of a customer.

I am tried of living in a world where the client comes second. If I have to put a credit card down for a massage or pedicure, and get charged if I bail on the appointment, then how is the owner accountable when they are running an hour behind and force me to miss my appointment? Is my next manicure on them because they messed up? Will they pay me the service amount? Hell no!

I guess all I am trying to say is I wish there was a little bit more respect, but I guess good work ethic is hard to come by these days. And some tea and cake would be nice too. Served on a silver platter.

I Promise

Those words sound so simple, don't they? I promise - they float off our tongues like little butterflies, with an ease unflattering to their content. We say them so freely, often not taking into consideration the sting they have when we don't follow through. Each and every one of us have been on the receiving end of a promise gone awry. Whether it was a best friend, parent, boyfriend or sibling, we all know how deep a broken promise can cut.

"Yes," you say with such gusto it's clear you've been hurt by someone who didn't keep their word. Before you get all flush faced and start drudging up all the times you were promised something you did not receive, think about whether you've ever been on the other side.

We all have, haven't we? We've said we'd do something we never ended up doing. I promise to make the bed. I promise to send your gift in the mail. I promise to clean the bathroom. I promise to pick that up from the post office. I promise I will never say that again. I promise to do better, try harder, be nicer. I promise. I promise. I promise.

Oh, and there are plenty of excuses, aren't there? I forgot. I didn't bring it with me. Time wasn't my friend. Was I suppose to do that today? I didn't mean to say that again.  I had to work late. What can I say? I suck. And these terrible excuses so often don't come with the two words needed to truly rectify the situation. I'm sorry. Those words seem to be the two hardest in the entire English language, followed swiftly by 'I was wrong'.

And it truly feels awful to have a promise broken, even if they are tiny things that seem so inconsequential. But for me, it feels worse to do the breaking. I never mean to break my promises, but sometimes it happens. Life gets busy. I get tired. And promises I once made can get forgotten. There is no reasonable excuse for this, but I do feel terrible when it happens. Maybe that's worth something. A little forgiveness, perhaps? When there is genuine remorse involved and a desire to not let it happen again, then moving past a broken promise is possible. It can be done.

What happens when that remorse and determination to do better isn't there? What happens when there is no apology and no chance to forgive? I suppose that's when it is time to move along. I try very hard not to make promises I have no intention of keeping, even promises I know will be hard for me to keep - like anything with a time frame, or if saving a piece of cake is involved. That being said, I think of the cliched promises people make and cringe.

I promise to love you forever. I promise to be with you until I die. I promise things will never change.

Talk about promises that are going to be hard to keep. Romantic, maybe. But also stupid. Here's the thing, I don't believe promises are intentionally broken, but end up being so due to a lack of consideration for the other person and an inability to time manage appropriately. They are only two little words, I promise, but they are important ones. And perhaps saying them without thought should be avoided. Maybe this calls for a promise not to promise so flippantly. Or maybe we should strike the words from our vocabularies and simply exist instead and give what we can when we can without anyone holding us hostage to promises we made on the fly without forethought.

Even more, don't ask people to promise unrealistic things. Or anything at all for that matter. I think I lost the point to this somewhere near the second paragraph.