A touch of Gaelic

You can't help but notice that I have added some peripherals to my blog that have an Irish touch. It seemed a natural occurance as I have must have kissed the Blarney Stone in a past life. In this life I must have kissed something less heart warming because instead of Blarney, I seem to spout a lot of Bull. Ah! Such is life. In my current writings I had need to have a phrase translated to Gaelic and thus came upon the webpages above. Celtic music is something that touches most people, okay some of my family and friends have just raised their eyebrows in doubt, so I will rephrase that....touches the more sensitive souls. So with a little Gaelic to spice up my writing and music that can both encourage or sooth the savage beast I will get back to my hero and heroine to enjoy another lust filled day.

Nothing much, but it has a little style.....

Different writing groups I am a member of, have competitions or 'challenges' to assist in the development and growth of a writer. Other writers, will then review submissions by giving constructive critisism, praise or both. Todays challenge was to produce an article about 'Nothing' . My first entry consisted of the title and the required description or motivation of the submission. My description was of sitting in front of a computer seeing nothing but a blank screen, and not wishing to contaminate the purity of the page, I wrote nothing. The blank page was duly attached. Hmm....reviewers thought I was being a smart arse. When I justified the piece on the grounds of poetic licence and artistic temperament, they reworded the challenge, making it very clear that they expected something in written form. I obliged and they were happy. The poem is certainly not one of my better ones, but they were pleased to receive it. They hoped that I understood their criticism and I did, so no big deal. However, artists of the easel type (or carpet) can produce a massive blank canvas, give it an obscure title and voilá, c'est masterpiece.
Writing as a craft can railroad many potentially good writers who, battling insecurity, work too hard to write under the direction of others. Sadly this undermines the development of their own style. Poetry is usually not so harsh a format because let's face it....who understands a lot of the modern, anything goes contents ? I don't and I write the stuff. Regardless, whether poetry, prose, stories or novels, reading is very personal and emotive. Reviewers can and should, critique a storyline, pace, interest level but not the style because for every writer, of every format, that is what seperates them from others.

Poor service is poor management

Hate being ignored or barely tolerated by shop assistants or staff of a business you are unfortunate enough to have to do business with? The first reaction is to become irritated then angry and then negativity takes a firm hold and you become demonstative or walk out.

Be as angry or upset as you like but the saying a business is only as good as it's staff isn't quite right unless by the term staff you are including all levels of management.

Managers should have staff training sessions, be observant of staff performances and behaviour and not be afraid to ask customers as they leave the store about the standard of service they received.

If management doesn't care enough to be more involved in staff attitude, product knowledge and the general hygiene and presentation of their staff, then that whole attitude is allowed to permeate through all aspects of the business. When a good staff member works in such an environment they usually seek employment elsewhere. Why? Because if the other staff are slack the good staff are taking the full brunt of the work and getting very little in return. A big disappointment for good staff is the lack of acknowledgement and respect given by management. The saying the customer is always right is truly disrespectful to a good salesperson. The customer will buy what they want and that is not always good for business, because if it isn't really what they need or won't do what they expect - Retailer beware. Good service is about a salesperson respecting the customer but not at the cost of disregarding product knowledge, or clients needs. The client is only always right if they come to a store requesting assistance in making a decision on the best product to meet their needs and their budget.

Managers must therefore take full responsibility when staff fail to assist clients in realising what it is they need and what product provides best value for money (if there is a choice of brands).

Managers who allow staff - read representatives of the company - to dress inappropriately or have poor hygiene practices, poor communication skills and minimal product knowledge deserve to lose you business. Don't berate the staff - it will change nothing, but affect your blood pressure. Speak to management or leave the store and tell everyone about the bad service. Word of mouth is the best form of promoting or demoting businesses.

Hypocrisy and Customer Service

At my age, one would think I had become resigned to the amount of hypocrisy that we are all guilty of. Unfortunately, nearly everyday I still get that feeling of disappointment at the double standards that prevail...and yes, I admit I am just as guilty as everyone else. Humanity is frail and often selfish so therein lies a cop out. However when it comes to Customer Service, I fail to find many peoples actions excusable, and as Julius Sumner Miller would ask, why is it so?
We all want respect from sales people and exceptional service - good service is taken for granted so nothing but exceptional service gets any recognition. But as customers there is the appalling lack of disrespect the moment the least inconvenience should come between us and those we consider our servants, the salespeople. It's almost as though shoppers/clients have an ogre switch. Rude behavior, arrogance and a voice emitting instant freeze and biting sarcasm let's the whole store know what they want, when, how, what price and it had better be as good as they advertise or...I'LL BE BACK.
On those few occassions when things don't go as well as expected, be it the sales transaction or the product, there is no compromise. It is "I'm going to Consumer Affairs", the less likely scenario now, or the growing favourite "I'm going to contact This day tonight (or a Current Affair or any other television show) and your name will be mud."
Now the real hypocrisy is in when the salesperson is a loved one, family member (not always the same category) or a friend and they regale you of tales of being treated and spoken to badly, we are all appalled. How dare customers behave like that. Don't they understand that salespeople have no control over prices, product condition and layout of store. How dare they.
Now, ofcourse there are salespeople who are rude, ignorant or appear not to give a hoot. But does ranting, raving and grand gestulating to become the centre of attention change those people? No. What it invariably does do is make other customers who may have thought the same as you, back away. They are embarassed for the sales staff and offended by the loutish behaviour. Why? Because I think we see a little of ourselves in others and not liking what we see, try to distance ourselves from the image.
Salespeople should serve as they liked to be served, and customers should treat store staff as they would want to be treated.
See, I am not only a hypocrit myself, I'm also either naive or idealistic. Never mind, this will no doubt change when I become old and eccentric.

Dealing with Grief

There can be no right or wrong way to deal with grief. As individuals we express ourselves differently. If a loved one is moving far away, whether you like the decision or not, it cannot be changed. You will miss their company and be sad at the time of their departure and at other times such as birthdays. But you get on with your own life. You would keep in contact and you would hope to see them again.

Death is no different. A loved one moves on, you express your sadness at the loss of their companionship and there will be times cherished memories will rise and you will give thanks for their life and it's affect on you. As a statement of your love or, at least out of respect, you should live your life fully and lovingly knowing that is what they would want.

When people die, the pain and suffering goes, so all they are leaving is love. The love they gave and the love you have for them.

Why do some people believe that the amount of pain and suffering they express is representative of the love they feel?

Whether you believe that death is final and there is nothing more or believe in heaven or spirits, surely it is better to celebrate the memory of the departed with gratitude for their influence and existence. The only pain and suffering is that of those who grieve. Is that really how you want to show your sense of loss or to express your love? Shouldn’t a life that was positive, be celebrated positively. Tears of joy or laughter at the memories of a life shared with us for a short time.

My nana suffered greatly from cancer and fought death all the way, extending her life, not for her family, but because she needed to come to terms with her previously non- existent religious beliefs. Every day I would sit with her, and discuss death from every possible point of view. It was her choice of subject and I was happy to be able to do anything for her, even discuss what I wanted least. She was a practical woman who had been a bit racy in her younger days and she refused to ask for forgiveness for what she called the ‘best damn days of my life’. Those many days taught me a lot about the strength of the human spirit, the weakness of the human body and the power of a human’s ability to love. So, what did I learn about death from my darling kindred spirit?

I learnt that the best way to deal with loss and grief is - honestly.

Be honest to yourself in recognising the truth of the situation, not what we want it to be.

Be honest in expressing your pain, anger, sense of loss. Grieving is allowed but self pity isn't.

Be honest in accepting that the loss is yours not theirs, for they are at peace.

Be honest in recognising you have a responsibility to that person to live your life to the fullest and happily.

Be honest to acknowledge that their death does not take away the good memories that made you cherish them and make you smile.

Be honest and remember, they are gone but you still have many people left who need your love, time and happiness.

The lesson was not to let grief stop you from enjoying your time with those that love you because your grief is their grief. Children will see how death affects you and learn. Life will bring your children their own lessons and your strength and wisdom in celebrating the life of those passed will give them strength when your passing comes.