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Work As Unto The Lord

As a manager of a busy Cardiac Catheterization Unit, I do my best to make sure that our patients receive the best care possible. We take time to answer their questions, take measures to make them comfortable, keep their loved ones informed, and make sure they receive the appropriate follow-up. Anytime we fall short of satisfactory, we consider it a failure and take corrective measures. In fact, if I ever reached the point to where I couldn’t perform the best service for my patients, I would quit.

I have noticed as a consumer that employees simply lack dedication and commitment to their customers. I recently returned a CD player to the music store because it didn’t work properly. I paid cash money for it and returned it within a week. I didn’t want a refund; I just wanted a product that worked the way it was supposed to. I felt that it was reasonable to expect that much.

The salesperson did everything he could to keep from giving me another CD player. He questioned me vigorously in an attempt to prove negligence on my part. Then he had the service department clean the heads, which he claimed could be dirty, even though it was new in the box. After two weeks of waiting, I finally picked it up only to discover it was doing the same thing.

Finally I went to the manager of the store who didn’t understand why I wasn’t simply given another player. So he did. No hassle. No queries. He just knew what to do.

On another occasion I tried to us my in-store credit (that’s money that the store owes you). I was told by the same salesperson that I had already used it. Once again, a manager intervened and easily took care the situation.

Would you believe that I waited for over two months for the dealer to order a part for my wife’s automobile? It was something to do with the pollution system. They said they would call us, but they never did. So we kept calling them. In the meantime, my wife had to drive around with a car (which we bought off the showroom floor), sounding like a helicopter. Let me add that when they finally put on the part, after two weeks it started doing the same thing. So now I’ve got to take it back.

What ever happened to good customer service? What happened to people being trained to do their jobs? What happened to people knowing the product they sell, how to service it, answer questions about it, and if need be, refund your money?

Unfortunately, more and more I have to deal with apathetic sales people that don’t want to be bothered; and they show it. And it’s just not in sales. This attitude is everywhere; in schools, hospitals, restaurants and churches.

Whatever the excuse is, we need to fix it. If we don’t have enough staff or resources, we need to close. We need to stop settling for second rate and do things right. God didn’t cut corners when He made the world. When it came to our redemption, He offered the best; His only begotten Son. How can we, His redeemed ones, think of doing anything less? "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving Colossians 3: 23-24.

By: Edmund Brown