What Tribe are You?

There's a whiff of the lynch mob or the lemming migration about any overlarge concentration of like-thinking individuals, no matter how virtuous their cause.
  - P. J. O'Rourke

Historically, the claim of consensus has been the first refuge of scoundrels; it is a way to avoid debate by claiming that the matter is already settled.
  - Michael Crichton

The proposed “Charter” from the PQ government in Quebec is causing quite a stir these days.  A lot of people, particularly from outside Quebec, are condemning it as being bigoted and against the Canadian Charter.  However, what has surprised me over the last few days are the number of writers who have come to the defence of Quebec’s proposed Charter, particularly here in Ottawa. 
The most telling of these was an article by a journalist named Dave Brown in the Ottawa Citizen.  He praised the Charter as a means of doing away with “tribalism” which he said was the cause of so many conflicts in the world.  He quoted a Canadian psychiatrist and diplomat, now dead, named Chisholm who had been a significant advocate of internationalism, the movement to set up one super international government to do away with future wars.  A nice thought if you can do it, but would we really just like to be considered as “earthlings”?

It’s true that you can pin a lot on “tribalism”.  You can blame it for bigotry, civil strife, civil war and war between countries.  But you can also attribute to it pride, a sense of belonging and nation building. 

But let’s go back to the Charter itself.  The premise behind it is really “if they only were like us,” meaning just like the advocates of the Charter.  If they only dressed like us, acted like us, thought like us, all would be well.  The “just like us” crowd in Quebec are the “pur laine”, old French speaking, conservative thinking people of Quebec.  There is nothing “progressive” in this Charter. 

The advocates of the Charter outside Quebec bear names like Brown, Chisholm and most recently Mathew Fisher.  They represent the majority “tribe”.  They have nothing to lose from such a Charter.  The sameness they want to foist on others is sameness to them.  Dress like me, act like me, think like me and all will be well.  We can all get along then.  The world will be safe from “otherness”. 

But that is the problem with this Charter, don’t you see.  What if I don’t want to dress, act and think like these people.  What am I to wear, how am I to act and think in, say Mumbai, Tokyo or Cairo?  I may act and dress like someone in Omaha but I don’t necessarily think like him.  So what is the “standard”?  Who is to set that “standard”?  What if I disagree with that standard? 

You see, it is diversity that makes us interesting.  Can you imagine how boring it would be to have a meaningful discussion on politics with people who totally agree with you?  It is diversity that brings progress.  If inventors had thought and acted like everyone else, there would be no inventions.  If clothiers all thought alike, we would still be wearing loin cloths (wouldn’t that be fun in Canada’s winter).  If writers weren’t diverse, we would have no literature.  “Great minds think alike; fools never differ,” is only true for the fools.  Great minds do differ and that is what makes them great.  Even in our everyday lives as members of the same “tribe”, we don’t dress alike nor act alike, never mind think alike.

So it is on this level that the PQ Charter and all those who support it are wrong.  We desperately need to embrace diversity; of dress, of action and mostly of thought.

One other thought about the Quebec Charter proposal; Madame Marois’ problem in that province is the clash between Montreal, the most cosmopolitan of cities, and the rest of Quebec.  This Charter is really aimed at Montreal and finding a way to vilify it.  If she could find a way to cut out the influence of Montreal, she would have a majority in any election and in a separation referendum.

He’s Back

For better or for worse, I’m back to the blog.  I’m sure there are some who are groaning at the news (“Why do I read this guy?”), and hopefully some who looked forward to my return.  Well, it’s happened.

August was a busy month with lots of visitors, mostly family.  This was followed by clean-up and general collapse.  Last week, my wife and I got away for a few days to a resort hotel in south-eastern Ontario.  We had a great time, with good food, nice accommodations and great service.

It was the great service that got me thinking.  Everywhere we went that week, the service was helpful, friendly and prompt.  It really made the vacation much better.  But having said that, why are we surprised when we get good service?  Why does it stand out so much from the service that we seem to get day to day?  Now you can understand that at a resort hotel and community, good service is important to their businesses.  But why does it not seem to be important at other businesses?  Now, I live in Ottawa, which may or may not be different from other cities in this regard, but I don’t think so.  I’ve been in many other cities where good service seems to stand out.

What constitutes good service? 

Friendliness is a good start.  It starts with a pleasant demeanor rather than an attitude that the server is somehow doing you, the customer, a favour for even serving you.  On the other hand, overdoing the gushy attitude can also be a turn-off.  Please don’t tell me all of the problems you’re having with your boyfriend.  I can’t solve them.  Just be pleasant and serve with a smile.

Obviously, helpfulness is another major contributor to good service.  It’s one thing to be nice, but if you can’t be of any help to the customer, it really doesn’t do any good.  Helpfulness starts with knowing the product or service you’re providing.  I can remember car salesmen, for example, who knew all about the latest “deal”, but had no idea about the car they were trying to sell.  Or how about the sales clerk who doesn’t know the answer to your question and won’t bother to find someone who would know.   In that case, please don’t try to “fake” the answer.  You could get you and your company in trouble.

I’m a fairly patient person, particularly as I get older.  But sometimes my patience runs thin when I have to wait endlessly for service.  You’ve been there when the waitress or bartender is so busy talking to others that they don’t even acknowledge your presence.  A simple “I’ll be with you in a minute,” would make the customer feel that he is recognized. Then there is the situation when the sales person serving you disappears for extended periods with no explanation.  Promptness doesn’t mean that everything has to be rushed; only that things happen in a reasonable time. 

Those three things, in my books, constitute good service.  Why do we put up with anything less?  Why do we dutifully pay the 15% gratuity for the waiter’s bad service?  Why don’t we ever complain to the server or his management about bad service?  Is it because we don’t think we could do any better?  Or are we just apathetic, willing to put up with any type of service? 

Of course there is another side to this situation.  Are you a good customer?  Do you display a negative attitude to sales persons?  Do you treat waitresses like they are beneath you?  Are you excessively demanding even when there is no need to be?  You attitude could, and often does, make all the difference in the service experience you receive.  Good manners and good service usually go hand in hand.  A simple smile and a good morning usually is enough to set the right tone.  Try it the next time you want service.  It works for me.