Don’t Know, Don’t Care

Perhaps you're a hardy soul who actually enjoys shopping at discount stores. I'm not. Too many "don't know, don't care" shrugs from uninformed sales people have cancelled much of the attraction of lower prices. Sometimes there's a pleasant exception, and I found one recently. It showed me how one particular attitude can bring success or failure, no matter what kind of job we may have.

I had made a return trip to a discount warehouse for some ceramic tile. Though I had already bought all of that store's remaining boxes on a closeout special, I still needed a few more. The week before, I had been assured that Chris would know what to do.

I spotted him and approached with some suspicion. Reciting the history of my case, I kept a trained eye open for that "don't know, don't care" shrug. But he not only listened, he also eagerly agreed to help ... without the least resistance. Being sure that this unforced display of helpfulness was probably just a diversionary tactic, I prepared for a broadside. It didn't come.

The computer alleged that there were still some boxes of tile still in the store, and Chris physically searched but could not locate them. Discrepancies, he muttered, bothered him. My mind put a check mark beside "thoroughness," certainly not a common symptom of "don't know, don't care."

I waited to see what would happen next. Would he give up at this initial roadblock, or was there a way around it? Indeed there was, and Chris made several unsuccessful attempts to reach someone in the regional warehouse. Still, he was convinced that there was probably some tile still in that warehouse. He would simply try to coax the computer into accepting an order for the boxes that I needed. Clickety-click, and it was done!

Impressed with such diligence, I thanked him. His reply took me off guard: "It's my job," he said. I agreed, but finding someone to admit it so freely didn't square with my experience. "I want to work here long time," he continued, "and have to take care of my customers." That attitude should accompany the delivery of any service, but it doesn't.

Example. Just a few days before we had encountered an especially severe case of "don't know, don't care" -- not in a discount store, but from a highly paid professional in another city. When asked why completely opposite interpretations of the same facts by his peers had caused us to waste many hundreds of dollars, he happily chirped, "Ya pays ya money, and ya takes ya chance!" We had certainly paid our money ... and he'd taken no chance by collecting his fee up front.

I'm sure you see the moral to this story. No matter what your job, remember this: your attitude will determine your success. Believe it or not, the right attitude will often cover a lack of skill. You may not know, but you can care.

Copyright 1998 James McAlister

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