An anesthesiologist is like that really wealthy man who never wants to be president. He however wields so much power that his word makes the leader. He plays in the shadows and pulls invisible strings. When it’s all over, no one knows what he did. He sits back, smokes a cigar and hopes the new leader does not bleed the land to death.

Only those who relish this invisible play of power and influence truly enjoy the profession.

jnkdg

The art of customer service is dying a slow but certain death. Rudeness and impatience are the order of the day. It would help if employees in the customer service industry would remember one little thing – it could be them or a loved one on the other side.

Growing up, my mum told us lots of stories. I forgot some of them while others have stayed with me to this day. One of those that stayed with me is about a builder who worked for a wealthy entepreneur. Over the years, the builder put up several wonderful homes for this wealthy man. With time the entepreneur stopped building and diversified his wealth into other businesses so his contact with the builder all but ceased to exist.

About 15 years after their last contact, the builder was summoned to see the wealthy man. He received a request from this rich man to build the most opulent home yet. He was asked to use the best materials possible.

After the builder left the presence of the entepreneur, he said to himself: “Why must I break my back for this man? What did I gain for doing that several years ago? He never was grateful for all the quality homes I put up for him. Guess what, this time around, I’ll use whatever materials I get my hands on and won’t bother so much with quality. Why should I?”

And so he built the shoddiest house ever. When he went to hand the keys over, this what the wealthy man had to say: ” I have been diagnosed with an incurable disease and will be dead in a few months. I wanted to show my gratitude for all the work you did for me. The house you just built is yours to keep. Thank you.”

You can imagine the surprise on the face of the builder.

Moral of the story: do every job like you were doing it for yourself.

Customer service employees   hint…hint…!

nana

The impact of wireless technology on third world economies and way of life has often been written about. I experienced it a few weeks ago when I was in Ghana.

My wife needed some kente stoles woven. Most weavers work underneath the shade of a tree. The city of Accra tolerates that for the most part so the weavers save on rent. Every now and then, the city evicts them from their free places of work and the weavers have to find another tree and another shade.

So there I am in Accra looking for this weaver who had been evicted from the tree we knew he worked under. How do you find a weaver in a city of about a million people who works under a tree? Enter the cell phone. My wife calls him from the US on his cell and gives him my cell number. He calls me and gives me directions to the street corner where his business is.

Now beat that!

nana

Somewhere in the Western hemisphere, a  48-year-old man has a failed liver from drinking too much and is scheduled to receive another liver through a transplant. In the last few years, he has not been able to work and has no insurance but no sweat, there’s Medicaid. So a man who has spent most of his adult life drinking and not working gets another chance at life and this is paid for by people who work hard and pay their taxes.

Cost: $100,000 to $400,000!

Somewhere in the third world, a 5-year-old boy has asthma and is dying. The parents could never afford the albuterol and steroids the doctor prescribed. The boy is in respiratory distress but there no possibilty to support his breathing. He is  going to die…miserably…

Cost of albuterol (MDI): approx. $40.00, Flovent approx. $100.00

Makes you wonder….really wonder….

jnkdg