Got an email that a potentially big customer will be coming to our call center later in the week. In the email is this…
“Please look at your areas and be sure we are in good shape. Flags and patriotic decorations - - We need MORE! Leave them up and keep them coming!!”
I understand wanting to make sure the area is clean, but suggesting that we put up more flags and patriotic decorations solely to impress a potential customer? Yuck.
It does seem a bit over zealous. Patriotism is great when it comes from the heart. It is an entirely different thing if it is dictated. I would venture to say that it even loses its meaning when dictated in a democracy.
I’d say it was shallow, manipulative and cynical. I expect, if you actually followed the memo, that the client would see right through it, maybe even be offended by it.
Depends if you have anything to fear from being thought non-patriotic. I see a lot of foreigner-owned stores have the flags out. They want to reassure customers that they want to be considered part of the nation. That seems fair to me, for example.
Our hotel company is the same way. I love it they lay people off, cut hours, ask us to give our vacation up so they can donate it to NYC, require us to put ribbons in our email signature lines, and boast how they donated 15 million dollars to the NYC disaster.
They are so phoney. I mean cut hours so they can give the money to charity. Charity starts at home.
/end rant.
No, it’s not fair.
It’s understandable, but it’s distinctly not FAIR.