Going The Extra Mile

Picture by Margaret Minnicks

 

Hi guys, how are you all doing? I hope great. I'm already feeling a little overwhelmed like I didn't know my break was going to be over so soon. Mind me not, I'll adjust soon. Anyway, so today, I want us to talk about "Going The Extra Mile" in whatever we do. We know that saying, " Whatever is worth doing is worth doing well" right? Well, it seems many people don't agree with this saying. I know, when we were younger, we could angrily carry out a task clumsily just to stubbornly and rudely pass a message - don't act all righteous, you must have done it too, but as adults why would you waste your time to do something and do it with zero dedication? It drives me insane. I'll give you a recent dangerous example.

Just yesterday, I called my mechanic (one of my many mechanics - they are all sooo annoying!) to help me fix my alternator. He had helped fix my fan belt two days ago and something else the week before. Okay, I should probably start by saying my baby girl (my car) is not exactly fresh outta the oven. She's pretty old, 11 years to be precise - don't sceam! She's a darling, she gets me and I get her, we have a connection but she sometimes, actually many times and in recent times increasingly gets overwhelmed by all the traffic she goes through for me and breaks down at different joints. Anyway, so she gets to visit the car clinic too often for my sanity and financial comfort. I also wouldn't put the blame on her so much because regardless of her age, I feel these mechanics should know what they are doing, know what they are buying and do their jobs right! Yes, many and others will argue to say all, are cheats. They buy you counterfeit products and charge you the cost of the original. I think this is very wicked. Cars are not things you should handle carelessly. This is something that can cause the loss of a life, but do they care at all? All the shallow minded, greedy beings want is money they are not ready to work properly for. It's sadly very crazy. So back to the event. The mechanic returned the car yesterday (dirty as always) claiming that he had worked on the problem and then I remembered I had an exhaust issue, and asked if he had noticed it as well. Dude said, yes but I had not mentioned to get that fixed so he didn't bother about it. The irritation that built within me was dangerously high. I angrily attacked him on the same issue I have repeated several times. I always say, always do a thorough check whenever you get the car at your workshop, some things you will observe as the "car professional", I may not even notice, so whenever you notice something off or something that needs fixing, give me a call with full details including the cost and I will decide if you should go ahead at the time or not, depending on my finances at the time and my personal consultations with friends and other "car professionals". Is that too much to ask? I know many will say not to trust them and go with them to the workshop and all that, I agree, but honestly I don't have the time. Yesterday passed then today, I go pick up my sister, we run an errand for dad and on our way back we start to hear a funny sound, as I begin to slide over to the side to park, the car goes off. I open the bonnet and see that my radiator is open, the cap is seated by the side, can you believe how dangerously careless that is of them and of me for not even bothering to check that my car came back in an okay state? My battery is also dead - it's a somewhat new battery and the alternator socket was supposedly changed yesterday. I call the guy, upset, explain my predicament and my brother asks me " so what will we do now"? Thank God a friend lives close to the spot we were at, he was the one who came to our rescue.

Please follow my disorganized thoughts here:
1. It won't cost so much to bring the car clean.
2. It is your job to bring the car in proper shape, having fixed what I asked for.
3. It is common sense to fix any extra problems you may find or at least mention to me and seek the permission to get it fixed.
4. It is only right that you feel some form of responsibility if your work is found to be lax especially to the point of causing danger. 

People terribly lack work ethics. You'll see employees feeling some sort of elevated entitlement while not delivering a quater of their requirements. I don't get it. Really, it baffles me. You hate your job? Then quit the darn thing. If you are not ready to do that then suck it up and do your darn job! If you're being treated unfairly, speak up! Just don't stay there making excuses, complaining daily while not even doing what you signed up to do. It's a two way thing. You are being paid to do the job and I'm here to even go beyond that and ask that you go the extra mile if and when you can. I'm not saying do "eye service", please, God, no! I totally hate that. I'm saying when you have the chance to produce better results that cost you nothing much, please do. I'm saying even if it costs you a little more than nothing much and your employer has treated you fairly or you want to grow in your field or you want to set yourself apart as an excellent deliverer, then by all means go the extra mile. 

Can we start to neutralize this toxic feeling of unjustified entitlement and do things right and sometimes more than right - do things excellently? I know sometimes it's too much trouble. I can get that. I'm just saying, let's not always feel we just have to give nothing more than was asked and please more seriously, let us not feel we have the right to deliver less than we are asked to. It's really more for you than for anyone else, the sooner we realize this, the better for us. 

Okay, I have to run now. Have lots to do and it's almost midnight already. Do you have annoying experiences like mine above? Please don't be a stranger, share with us at the comment section. Till next time, stay safe and be excellent. Lots of love...