Rude people top my list of pet peeves. It makes it aggravating when the rudeness comes from someone who is in the business of making money. You’d think that business people would act nice because they want to attract good karma from the Universe, right?
Yesterday morning, I contacted a business reference of someone wanting to work a deal with my employer. The first time I called during the first hour of a normal business day, his telephone just rang continuously. That should have been a red flag! A couple of hours later, I called again. This time, he picked up, but really sounded grumpy as though I had forced him out of bed. It was almost 10:00 a.m. when most employees were dreaming of lunch time. One would think that this businessman should have had his coffee by then so that he could get his act together.
I introduced myself very politely and stated my purpose. You know... the put-a-smile-in-your-voice kind of thing. For reasons only he could explain, he said, “I can’t even understand what you’re telling me,” then quickly hang up. For someone who is operating a business, his reaction was downright unrefined and discourteous. First, if the telephone connection was the problem (which wasn’t because I heard him clearly screaming from my end), he should have been more patient and explained why he couldn’t hear me, and perhaps request me to hang up and redial his number. But to hang up abruptly while I was still on the line was a clear and present message that he wasn’t interested in promoting his business.
I thought that maybe he was having a bad day, his wife was divorcing him, or he lost a fortune at the casino. But I have a low tolerance for verbally abusive people so I asked someone else (my male associate) to call him. I thought that perhaps the businessman won’t be as rude talking to a guy. As it turned out, the man was really an inconsequential human being. Someone must have ripped him off of his morning cereal from the way he behaved. It puzzles me why such behavior would deserve any kind of business success. But I won’t waste another minute giving him my power. The jerk shouldn’t be operating a business, but he can enjoy his rough business style for as long as he can pull it off. If that’s his natural behavior on a normal business day, more power to him! Eventually, he’ll get the business karma that he deserves.
I don’t call many people during my work day. In fact, I’m the one who receive an assortment of incoming calls due to the nature of my work in my company. People looking for employment call me. Business owners who want to provide service ring me up. Virtually anyone looking for an associate of mine, and can’t get a hold of them, give me a buzz. No, I’m not the receptionist, nor the glorified slave, but in the spirit of downsizing, my company did away with the receptionist a few years ago. Since I am the only employee whose direct line is advertised on our company billboards, I get the most rings in the office. One time, I even got a call from the mascot of a football team. I didn’t know that he was a celebrity until one of the guys in the office told me. I’ve probably spoken to many more folks whose names I should have been familiar with, but I was too busy doing my job. Besides, there’s only one figure that I would really care to recognize. His initials: GOD.
I’m sure that GOD will not condone the businessman’s ugly telephone manner. GOD would want everyone to be nice to each other. That was the plan all along since time began in that notorious garden. But through the years, people went against the policy of spreading niceness and goodwill. Now we have to put up with obnoxious human beings. For the disenchanted, all I can say is that nicety is the right thing to do. It sows seeds of kindness and promotes good feelings to grow. Being with really nice people raises the level of positive energy in the world. It's like living in a gigantic garden where there's no place for weeds to thrive. Although sometimes we have to put up with folks with absolutely bad behavior, as long as we don’t stoop down to their gutter level, we encourage the propagation of agreeable interaction.
