Good Business Etquitte

Do you know the difference between civil versus courteous? There is a vast difference. Let me tell you how to use and live civil.

The problem

In all the years I ran a business the old adage of "the customer is always right" replayed over and over again. One of my mentors's told me I was going to have to be courteous to my clients. She meant all of my clients. There are always a few that are just "jerks" or "jerkettes" and we dealt with repeat customers, so the problem of how to be courteous to them was a real threat to my sanity! From time to time there were also co-workers that were a problem for me.

The solution

After looking up the definition of courteous (an expression of respect, favor or indulgence) I decided I was just not capable of being nice to all of our clients. Oh yes, most of the clients were a delight to deal with and we had developed a mutual respect and a business friendship over the years with them. Then there were the others, the ones that you could never please but they always came back again! These were the ones I had difficulty dealing with. In looking through Webster's Dictionary plus Thesaurus I happened upon the word civility, then civil. (Suggests the bare fulfillment of the ordinary requirements of social intercourse) In other words (my words) this meant that I did not have to be nice to them, just that I could do them no harm! After thinking about that choice I decided I could do that!

An application

I will relate only one example. There was one client who had been with us for about 14 years when I left the business. For the last 7 or 8 years he had taken an extreme dislike to me. Almost every time he came into the office his remarks as he passed by my office door were negative towards me and derogatory. I did not say a negative word to him. Other than business exchange conversations, I just ignored him. I will admit this seemed to make him edgy but business was conducted smoothly and I felt very little animosity towards him. Over time, the animosity I felt even went away. I do not know how he felt about me, however, he kept coming back so our work was satisfactory to him. Another adage comes to mind, "Never argue with a fool in public. It is hard to tell which one is the fool." I did not have to be nice to him I just could not harm him. That I did and it worked.

Dealing with difficult people

There are difficult people every where, every day. Dealing with these people can become less stressful if you will just be civil. You do not have to smile and be nice - just do them no harm. It works well. You will be amazed how simple it is to do. Try it for just one day at the office, at home, anywhere!