Zach LarkinsTIME
My wife and I were discussing the value of time the other day. I came to the conclusion that with all our modern conveniences and technology, time just is not that important to the majority of people today. They seem to waste a lot of it, and have no consideration of yours.
I am currently attending physio-therapy to overcome a work injury. The receptionist asked what time I'd like to book my appointments for. Knowing that they opened at 8AM, and not wanting to screw up the rest of my day, I told her 8AM.
Now I would think that if you are scheduled for something at a certain time, the other party would be there first to have everything set up for you and be ready to welcome you. Such is not the case anymore. The people who run this therapy clinic think that 8AM is the time to show up to unlock the doors. For the first week, I beat them to the clinic everyday and watched as they rolled in, Timmies in hand, to unlock the doors and start getting ready for the day ahead. Needless to say, my session never started before 8:15 at the earliest. So now, I've settled into their routine and don't show up until 8:15 at the earliest. It seems to me that if you want to sell something to someone, or serve them in some capacity, the old saying of the customer being right comes into play.
I remember working for my father, a general contractor. The labourers would show up on a job site at 7:15 to get ready for work. At 7:30, they were building scaffolding and mixing mortar for the bricklayers. The bricklayers showed up at 7:45 to get ready, not to look around and plan their day. By 8AM they were laying bricks. Other than breaks for coffee and lunch, everyone worked until 4:30PM and then they quit, gathered their tools and got cleaned up. The labourers were paid a ½ hr overtime for showing up early.
When I was on the road, I made sure I was at least 15 minutes early for an appointment. In this way, if I was kept waiting past my, say 2:00 interview, the other fellow was automatically on the defensive. I closed a lot of deals pointing out that my time was just as valuable as his or hers.
We often hear people claiming to offer 8 hours work for 8 hours pay. But how many actually do it? Or even willing to?
I am currently attending physio-therapy to overcome a work injury. The receptionist asked what time I'd like to book my appointments for. Knowing that they opened at 8AM, and not wanting to screw up the rest of my day, I told her 8AM.
Now I would think that if you are scheduled for something at a certain time, the other party would be there first to have everything set up for you and be ready to welcome you. Such is not the case anymore. The people who run this therapy clinic think that 8AM is the time to show up to unlock the doors. For the first week, I beat them to the clinic everyday and watched as they rolled in, Timmies in hand, to unlock the doors and start getting ready for the day ahead. Needless to say, my session never started before 8:15 at the earliest. So now, I've settled into their routine and don't show up until 8:15 at the earliest. It seems to me that if you want to sell something to someone, or serve them in some capacity, the old saying of the customer being right comes into play.
I remember working for my father, a general contractor. The labourers would show up on a job site at 7:15 to get ready for work. At 7:30, they were building scaffolding and mixing mortar for the bricklayers. The bricklayers showed up at 7:45 to get ready, not to look around and plan their day. By 8AM they were laying bricks. Other than breaks for coffee and lunch, everyone worked until 4:30PM and then they quit, gathered their tools and got cleaned up. The labourers were paid a ½ hr overtime for showing up early.
When I was on the road, I made sure I was at least 15 minutes early for an appointment. In this way, if I was kept waiting past my, say 2:00 interview, the other fellow was automatically on the defensive. I closed a lot of deals pointing out that my time was just as valuable as his or hers.
We often hear people claiming to offer 8 hours work for 8 hours pay. But how many actually do it? Or even willing to?
youranter
Opinions
opinionatedranter
Tales From The Green Lantern
The cable and phone companies really need a shaking up, S L. How do they expect you to pay their bills when you've lost a day's wages waiting for them. We should be allowed to backcharge them for waiting time. That might level the playing field a bit.