Monday, May 5, 2008

My #1 Pet Peeve

Everyone has a #1 pet peeve. Yours might be lousy drivers, people who talk too much or too loud, smokers, drunks, liberals, conservatives, television commercials, traffic, Windows upgrades, losing a button, hot flashes, bad spelling & improper grammar, unrelenting increase in the price of gas, taxes, politicians, and I could go on and on. But, I won't. Let's get back to my #1.

My #1 pet peeve relates to my work. What I do for a living is not rocket science and it is not important what I actually do , but let's say after 36 years of hearing most of the questions that pertain to my industry at least a hundred times, I have most of the answers on the tip of my tongue when I hear "I am having trouble with my _______". Since my job is helping people solve their problems and getting them back to making a living, I am more than willing to help. And, in return, they will purchase my products and services. We both win.

However, I continue to encounter folks who have tried everything that "they know" and cannot solve the problem at hand. So, after patiently listening, I give them a possible solution based on my 36 years(which BTW is way too long in any business)of experince. You would think the response would be, "I'll give that a try" or "Why didn't I think of that?" or "You're a frigging genius".

No, that's not what they say. They say, "That's can't be right". Not right? This is not a multiple choice test where answers A, B, C, and D are incorrect and E is none of the above. If they know what's not right and they don't know what is right, why are they wasting my time!

That's my #1. And if you don't agree, don't call me.