Comments on: Whatever Happened to a Job Well Done? http://ceruleansanctum.com/2005/04/whatever-happened-to-a-job-well-done.html Looking for the 1st century Church in 21st century America Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:13:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.5 By: Pete Cino http://ceruleansanctum.com/2005/04/whatever-happened-to-a-job-well-done.html#comment-2590 Pete Cino Fri, 11 Nov 2005 01:19:00 +0000 http://ceruleansanctum.com/?p=316#comment-2590 I don't know how to put this, but I have had two companies in my house in the last year to do work and both have been outstanding. The first was MidAtlantic Waterproofing. You hear their ads on the radio all the time. We had an unbelievably bad water problem in our basement. If the weather channel predicted rain our basement was wet. They came in, gave us three options and estimates for all three, a realistic assessment on what the probabilites of success in dealing with the water problem would be for each and a price. Well, we didn't feel like spending $23000 for waterproofing from the outside (and the rep actually advised against that option) but went for the middle ground. We signed the papers and set up an appointent. When the crew came out, they were ready for a one day job and 60 feet of french drain. Once they began to dig into our basement floor, they found MAJOR problems under there, and found an additional 15 feet of trenching to do under a set of stairs. Price increase? No way! It took an extra DAY (yep, just one extra day) and a second crew, but they stuck to their price. If you live in New Jersey (or anywhere in the Northeast) you remember the week of heavy rain in October. No water. Great job! Next, we had BathFitters do a tub surround. The rep again gave us many options at many price levels, and fully recognized our situation. We settled on a product, set a date and it was installed exactly as promised, when promised in less time than promised and it's fantastic. I can only hope others of you have as good luck with these companies. I don’t know how to put this, but I have had two companies in my house in the last year to do work and both have been outstanding.
The first was MidAtlantic Waterproofing. You hear their ads on the radio all the time. We had an unbelievably bad water problem in our basement. If the weather channel predicted rain our basement was wet. They came in, gave us three options and estimates for all three, a realistic assessment on what the probabilites of success in dealing with the water problem would be for each and a price. Well, we didn’t feel like spending $23000 for waterproofing from the outside (and the rep actually advised against that option) but went for the middle ground. We signed the papers and set up an appointent. When the crew came out, they were ready for a one day job and 60 feet of french drain. Once they began to dig into our basement floor, they found MAJOR problems under there, and found an additional 15 feet of trenching to do under a set of stairs. Price increase? No way! It took an extra DAY (yep, just one extra day) and a second crew, but they stuck to their price. If you live in New Jersey (or anywhere in the Northeast) you remember the week of heavy rain in October. No water. Great job!

Next, we had BathFitters do a tub surround. The rep again gave us many options at many price levels, and fully recognized our situation. We settled on a product, set a date and it was installed exactly as promised, when promised in less time than promised and it’s fantastic.

I can only hope others of you have as good luck with these companies.

]]> By: wild sparrow http://ceruleansanctum.com/2005/04/whatever-happened-to-a-job-well-done.html#comment-2589 wild sparrow Sat, 28 May 2005 21:18:00 +0000 http://ceruleansanctum.com/?p=316#comment-2589 I so agree with you Dan. And, at the risk of sounding like a total loony, I think that it is a symptom of the slow rot that stems from the heart of our society. With the breakdown of the nuclear family, and the demise of support for parents and parenting, comes a decline in the quality of childrens' upbringing and discipline. A child who is not properly disciplined cannot respect him/herself adequately. Why then should they care about doing a good job? Pride in your own workmanship stems from the knowledge that it is a reflection upon yourself (and, to extrapolate, in the Christian, it should reflect a love and devotion to God). I don't think people these days have enough concept of who they are, or enough self-respect, to even understand much of what I'm saying (albeit very simplistically and in a generalised way) here. I so agree with you Dan. And, at the risk of sounding like a total loony, I think that it is a symptom of the slow rot that stems from the heart of our society. With the breakdown of the nuclear family, and the demise of support for parents and parenting, comes a decline in the quality of childrens’ upbringing and discipline. A child who is not properly disciplined cannot respect him/herself adequately. Why then should they care about doing a good job? Pride in your own workmanship stems from the knowledge that it is a reflection upon yourself (and, to extrapolate, in the Christian, it should reflect a love and devotion to God). I don’t think people these days have enough concept of who they are, or enough self-respect, to even understand much of what I’m saying (albeit very simplistically and in a generalised way) here.

]]> By: Dan Edelen http://ceruleansanctum.com/2005/04/whatever-happened-to-a-job-well-done.html#comment-2588 Dan Edelen Mon, 02 May 2005 15:28:00 +0000 http://ceruleansanctum.com/?p=316#comment-2588 Pete, I'm not sure we could live in a society that only abides by a lowest common denominator means of living. I don't remember as a teenager that people were so apathetic about what they did for a living. Today it seems like far too many people just don't care. Now you may see that as a control issue, but I see it as a reflection of service in a person's life. If I don't care one hoot about you or what I do for a living, then you will get the exact kind of crummy service I'm describing. If a service provider's attitude is, "I just want your money," then you get what I'm describing. If anything, that kind of lowest common denominator, "I'm going to do the very least I can to just squeak by" thinking is one of the reasons our society is in the mess it is. That kind of thinking is completely antithetical to the Gospel. In my parents' day, they would not abide that kind of attitude. In my generation, however, the attitude is becoming, "Oh well,that's just the way it is and always will be." It doesn't take a genius to see that nothing good will come out of that. Would you want to be operated on by a doctor that got straight D's in medical school and doesn't take the time to sterilize his equipment because all he's interested in is your money? Would you want your kids taught by a teacher who sits around chain-smoking all day in the classroom and always has an excuse for why the kids in her class are as dump as stumps? Would you want to fly in an airplane built by a company whose motto is "It'll do"---I sure wouldn't. We should not tolerate lowest common denominator thinking. That same kind of thinking has led to our "let's not alienate people by talking about sin, repentance, and the cross of Christ" "churches" that make disciples that are twice the children of Hell that they are. No, I believe in holding people to a higher standard. Every study ever done on this proves that people rise to a challenge if pressed hard enough. On the hand, give them no challenge and they'll sink to doing the least needed to get by. I think that the victim mentality that we have cultivated in the Unites States in the last thirty years is killing us. If enough people tell me I'm a victim, then I can get by doing anything, no matter how outlandish, because someone owes me something for making me into a victim. I see that thinking in almost every bad situation I run into. When no one will stand up and say, "It's my fault and no one else's," you get exactly what I wrote about. In every case of bad service I got, someone tried to blame someone or something else for the fact that the work was shoddy. I think we will have to disagree on this. BTW, have you ever seen the movie <I>Brazil</I>? It does a good job of showing what happens when no one cares about a job well done or about what others feel. There's a reason they call that "dystopian." Pete,

I’m not sure we could live in a society that only abides by a lowest common denominator means of living.

I don’t remember as a teenager that people were so apathetic about what they did for a living. Today it seems like far too many people just don’t care. Now you may see that as a control issue, but I see it as a reflection of service in a person’s life. If I don’t care one hoot about you or what I do for a living, then you will get the exact kind of crummy service I’m describing. If a service provider’s attitude is, “I just want your money,” then you get what I’m describing.

If anything, that kind of lowest common denominator, “I’m going to do the very least I can to just squeak by” thinking is one of the reasons our society is in the mess it is. That kind of thinking is completely antithetical to the Gospel.

In my parents’ day, they would not abide that kind of attitude. In my generation, however, the attitude is becoming, “Oh well,that’s just the way it is and always will be.” It doesn’t take a genius to see that nothing good will come out of that.

Would you want to be operated on by a doctor that got straight D’s in medical school and doesn’t take the time to sterilize his equipment because all he’s interested in is your money? Would you want your kids taught by a teacher who sits around chain-smoking all day in the classroom and always has an excuse for why the kids in her class are as dump as stumps? Would you want to fly in an airplane built by a company whose motto is “It’ll do”—I sure wouldn’t.

We should not tolerate lowest common denominator thinking. That same kind of thinking has led to our “let’s not alienate people by talking about sin, repentance, and the cross of Christ” “churches” that make disciples that are twice the children of Hell that they are.

No, I believe in holding people to a higher standard. Every study ever done on this proves that people rise to a challenge if pressed hard enough. On the hand, give them no challenge and they’ll sink to doing the least needed to get by.

I think that the victim mentality that we have cultivated in the Unites States in the last thirty years is killing us. If enough people tell me I’m a victim, then I can get by doing anything, no matter how outlandish, because someone owes me something for making me into a victim. I see that thinking in almost every bad situation I run into. When no one will stand up and say, “It’s my fault and no one else’s,” you get exactly what I wrote about. In every case of bad service I got, someone tried to blame someone or something else for the fact that the work was shoddy.

I think we will have to disagree on this.

BTW, have you ever seen the movie Brazil? It does a good job of showing what happens when no one cares about a job well done or about what others feel. There’s a reason they call that “dystopian.”

]]> By: poetpete http://ceruleansanctum.com/2005/04/whatever-happened-to-a-job-well-done.html#comment-2587 poetpete Mon, 02 May 2005 07:21:00 +0000 http://ceruleansanctum.com/?p=316#comment-2587 Yes, Dan, I understand your frustration and the cost and the every-other irritation. But what I am suggesting is that we rethink what we expect and to what degree we expect what we expect. What if we expect on a daily basis that we will be lied to, and cheated and stuffed around for no good reason, and loathed, and hated, and ignored, and shoved asided as an inconvenient bother by our suppliers and contractors and fellow believers? What if our blood pressure was not affected by any of the nasties that claw at our soul and try and turn us into joyless Christians? You know.. the JOYSUCKERS! I believe, as Believers, we are to lift our heads and hearts above all that. And it is almost the hardest thing to do! But Paul learned to find contentment in whatever circumstances he was in. Just check out his catalogue of experiences and consider our momentary pains in the light of his onging experiences of abuse, etc. I'll offer two poems which I think shed some light onto the discussion. Guess which one was the Pastor and which one served me coffee. ~~~ ... Even Among Friends ... A friend phoned, said, "How are you?" "Do you really want to know?" I replied. "No, Probably not," he answered. Then he got down to the nature of his call. It was short, brief, to the point. That's the cold way of business without bodies, even among friends. I hung up, layed back. My head seemed cloudy, My mind sought logical acceptance, My soul cried out for peace. I tried to understand why I felt so empty and insignificant in such a busy world, even among friends. He phoned back, said, "It doesn't matter now." I thought to myself, I wonder what would have happened if he really cared. But he didn't. That's the cold way of business bodies, even among friends. ~~~ ... Something You Said ... We only met the other day something you said transformed me the way I think the way I feel the way I act all different now. How special are your words to me. And now you are special to me. ~~~ There is another factor which I think may have some bearing on the way we can reacte to undesirable circumstances, it is this. If something (or someone) we are responsible for goes bust, either through our personal neglect or mismanagement, or even through no fault of our own but compliments of some third party, it can reflect badly on our person as a result. And we certainly don't want people to think badly of us, rightly or wrongly, do we! So, we gotta have everything going smoothly, according to plan, with every efficiency, and within our total grasp and control and according to our plan. In all this I think "control" is one thing that sticks its ugly head up. Truth is this, we are in control of precious little, but our Lord isn't. The offer of personal control and the power that goes with it, it seems to me, is behind all our world's advertising and politics. It is certainly something running rampant through our churches, most often from top down, and it can be so subtle. (Are the missing men in the pews stupid? You can be sure they see it and probably vote with their feet). I don't think people want to be controlled, but rather be served and serve in love and huumility. I would rather someone who loved me do something for me or with me, even if they stuffed up bigtime, than some heartless zombie who couldn't give a care about my existence but did a perfect job. I suppose it all gets down to this, How do we die to ourselves on a daily basis? Dead people don't have control anymore, last I saw, nor any blood-pressure problems. Peace, dear friend. Peter Yes, Dan, I understand your frustration and the cost and the every-other irritation. But what I am suggesting is that we rethink what we expect and to what degree we expect what we expect. What if we expect on a daily basis that we will be lied to, and cheated and stuffed around for no good reason, and loathed, and hated, and ignored, and shoved asided as an inconvenient bother by our suppliers and contractors and fellow believers? What if our blood pressure was not affected by any of the nasties that claw at our soul and try and turn us into joyless Christians? You know.. the JOYSUCKERS!

I believe, as Believers, we are to lift our heads and hearts above all that. And it is almost the hardest thing to do! But Paul learned to find contentment in whatever circumstances he was in. Just check out his catalogue of experiences and consider our momentary pains in the light of his onging experiences of abuse, etc.

I’ll offer two poems which I think shed some light onto the discussion. Guess which one was the Pastor and which one served me coffee.

~~~

… Even Among Friends …

A friend phoned, said,
“How are you?”
“Do you really want to know?” I replied.
“No, Probably not,” he answered.

Then he got down
to the nature of his call.
It was short,
brief, to the
point.

That’s the cold way
of business without bodies,
even among friends.

I hung up, layed back.
My head seemed cloudy,
My mind sought logical acceptance,
My soul cried out for peace.
I tried to understand
why I felt so empty
and insignificant
in such a busy world,
even among friends.

He phoned back, said,
“It doesn’t matter now.”

I thought to myself,
I wonder what
would have happened
if he really cared.
But he didn’t.

That’s the cold way
of business bodies,
even among friends.

~~~

… Something You Said …

We only met
the other day
something you said
transformed me
the way I think
the way I feel
the way I act
all different now.
How special
are your words
to me.
And now
you are special
to me.

~~~

There is another factor which I think may have some bearing on the way we can reacte to undesirable circumstances, it is this.
If something (or someone) we are responsible for goes bust, either through our personal neglect or mismanagement, or even through no fault of our own but compliments of some third party, it can reflect badly on our person as a result. And we certainly don’t want people to think badly of us, rightly or wrongly, do we! So, we gotta have everything going smoothly, according to plan, with every efficiency, and within our total grasp and control and according to our plan.

In all this I think “control” is one thing that sticks its ugly head up. Truth is this, we are in control of precious little, but our Lord isn’t. The offer of personal control and the power that goes with it, it seems to me, is behind all our world’s advertising and politics. It is certainly something running rampant through our churches, most often from top down, and it can be so subtle. (Are the missing men in the pews stupid? You can be sure they see it and probably vote with their feet).
I don’t think people want to be controlled, but rather be served and serve in love and huumility. I would rather someone who loved me do something for me or with me, even if they stuffed up bigtime, than some heartless zombie who couldn’t give a care about my existence but did a perfect job.

I suppose it all gets down to this, How do we die to ourselves on a daily basis? Dead people don’t have control anymore, last I saw, nor any blood-pressure problems.

Peace, dear friend.

Peter

]]> By: Dan Edelen http://ceruleansanctum.com/2005/04/whatever-happened-to-a-job-well-done.html#comment-2586 Dan Edelen Mon, 02 May 2005 04:48:00 +0000 http://ceruleansanctum.com/?p=316#comment-2586 Peter, I perfectly understand what you are saying. The problem I have is that it goes beyond "hey, just like everyone once in a while, I'm having a tough day," to completely forgetting human courtesy. The day I was to pick up my wife's gift, my son restarted hacking his head off. The previous day he'd coughed so hard he threw up. So I called the shop and told them I would have to reschedule my appointment later in the day to see if my son snapped out of the coughing fit. I was courteous to call them back and reschedule for later. In the course of conversation, the person who would be taking care of me later made note of the fact I had a very long drive to get to them (fifty minutes.) We talked about how far I was from their business. Now knowing this, why did she not spare me the trip? She knew ahead of time I would be upset because she told me that right before laying out the gift! If she had simply told me in the course of my rescheduling, "Mr. Edelen, I do not believe that you will be happy with the result. Let's try redoing this. We will give you a 20% discount for your troubles and will work with you to get the final result right. Our sincerest apologies. Let me schedule a reconsultation at your earliest convenience." If she had done that, I would have been perfectly agreeable and my B.P. would have stayed 120/75. If she had done that, she would have spared me a lot of gasoline and almost two and a half hours of my time. Instead, she waited till I got there to drop the bomb. That's just plain wrong and lousy customer service. When people come out and admit they goofed, I am perfectly OK with that. It's when they goof and try to hide it that I get upset. I knew the satellite repointing guy was bothcing my repoint. But he had the nerve to lie about it even after I bailed him out of a hole he'd already dug in the course of things. That's just lower than low, especially when I went out of my way to let him save face. There's just no excuse for lying to me after I made his job easier. Peter,

I perfectly understand what you are saying. The problem I have is that it goes beyond “hey, just like everyone once in a while, I’m having a tough day,” to completely forgetting human courtesy.

The day I was to pick up my wife’s gift, my son restarted hacking his head off. The previous day he’d coughed so hard he threw up. So I called the shop and told them I would have to reschedule my appointment later in the day to see if my son snapped out of the coughing fit. I was courteous to call them back and reschedule for later. In the course of conversation, the person who would be taking care of me later made note of the fact I had a very long drive to get to them (fifty minutes.) We talked about how far I was from their business.

Now knowing this, why did she not spare me the trip? She knew ahead of time I would be upset because she told me that right before laying out the gift! If she had simply told me in the course of my rescheduling, “Mr. Edelen, I do not believe that you will be happy with the result. Let’s try redoing this. We will give you a 20% discount for your troubles and will work with you to get the final result right. Our sincerest apologies. Let me schedule a reconsultation at your earliest convenience.”

If she had done that, I would have been perfectly agreeable and my B.P. would have stayed 120/75. If she had done that, she would have spared me a lot of gasoline and almost two and a half hours of my time. Instead, she waited till I got there to drop the bomb. That’s just plain wrong and lousy customer service.

When people come out and admit they goofed, I am perfectly OK with that. It’s when they goof and try to hide it that I get upset. I knew the satellite repointing guy was bothcing my repoint. But he had the nerve to lie about it even after I bailed him out of a hole he’d already dug in the course of things. That’s just lower than low, especially when I went out of my way to let him save face. There’s just no excuse for lying to me after I made his job easier.

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