[M. Dodge Thomas]

In most areas of the Country, people are not serving friends and neighbors anymore. We are just a number, a faceless warm body to them.

Also, I think there's a big and increasing difference between dealing with someone providing a service and someone performing a function.

In the first case (say, a server in a sit-down restaurant) the person you are dealing with is usually in a position to exert substantial control over the quality of their results.

In the second (say, the airline counter agent dealing with a delayed flight or a typical customer service rep at the other end of the phone line) the person with whom you are dealing may same some control over the content and tone of your interaction, but they often have little control over the quality of service they provide, which is predetermined by rules and systems over which they generally have little if any control.

And the goal of "customer service" management, for better or worse, whether it is managing a fast-food checkout line or a customer call center, is to replace expensive and variable-quality "service" with inexpensive and standardized-quality "function" whenever possible.

[wizr]

I won't go into detail, but my job was coordination between The Company and my client. Sometimes my client needed something from The Company, and sometimes The Company needed something from my client. No cash involved.

Either way, I felt my job was to find out what my clients needs were, and to coordinate any problems to get a win/win situation. Whenever possible.

I loved my job. I said it was like walking a tightrope over a pride of lions, but there was great satisfaction in solving problems. No finger pointing, no delays, no excuses, just a'holes and elbows.

Until people inside The Company started working against me.

I bet there are hundreds, maybe thousands, of stories just like this one. There are many of us that just got tired of trying to do what's right, and moved out of the way of the steamroller.

Work your fingers to the bone and what do you get. Bony fingers.

Thanx, for listening.