Thursday, May 27, 2010

147. The customer is often not right


The words of Sir Humphrey echoed in Diane’s head: ‘Hospitals would be so efficient if it weren’t for patients’. She had never been one for confrontation, neither in her professional nor private life. She took the pragmatic approach of conciliation, negotiation and compromise. The older she got the clearer her fall-back position appeared, the point where she could live with the outcomes. However, she was meeting more and more people who found it difficult to compromise because their opinions were entrenched, correct and they had rights. Diane inwardly quivered and a slight moan escaped her taut lips.

She shook her head, hearing once again the admonition, ‘How dare you’! She had almost expected it to be followed by the classic, ‘Don’t you know who I am’? It had always annoyed Diane that shouting and spluttering and causing a scene, got the desired result, that rules did not apply to everyone.

3 comments:

corticoWhat said...

Nice rhythm.

Clytie said...

How well you have captured the essence of so many self-important people that seem to pervade our society. Sigh. So sad.

Joan Elizabeth said...

The photo here is luminous ... so good I hardly wanted to read the story.