At Your Service by Maggie Inge

The first time we make an error, it is simply a mistake. The second time it is a big mistake and we comment, “I should have known better.” The third time we are developing a pattern, soon to be a habit that can only be broken with great effort. The potential to catch mistakes before they become bad habits is the primary value of assessing past performance.

Last fall I cited as an example a business owner, call him Roger, for his customer-centric approach to problem-solving. This week I learned that Roger is not the owner of his business. When I played back our conversation in my mind I realized that he had never said that he was the owner – what was remarkable, even more so in retrospect, was his attitude.

She smiles – that is, the corners of her mouth rise and the lips part enough to reveal the edges of her teeth. The dark light in her eyes reveals that she is anything but happy and gives the smile the appearance of a sneer. “Welcome” falls from his lips like a tooth spat out at the end of a fight. It has been a long day and more people means it is likely he will have to stay open late.

Trust is a critical component of service and trust is in short supply these days. The issue of trust is completely revealed in our confrontation, as individuals and as a nation, with concerns relating to health care. It is in the domains of health care that the most intimate aspects of service are expressed; lives hang in the balance and the delicate underbelly is exposed. In no other arena are we required to trust with such abandon.

We of the human variety are made richer by our associations and grow in direct proportion to the scope of our relationships. Having many friends enables me to be many people without being schizophrenic; in each relationship different aspects of me are revealed and given permission to blossom. In the same way, businesses flourish by virtue of the company they keep.