BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – Persons who fiercely stick to the letter of the law when it comes to their job not only show an extremely ungenerous spirit but are unlikely to be considered for promotion of any kind…unless of course they are being rewarded on a political level.
We are now commemorating Tourism Month and highlighting the importance of Service in an extremely competitive industry, but we must also realize that the attributes spoken of in this story are necessary for us to have in our daily lives, with or without tourists.
We see this “could not care less what happens it is not my job” attitude pervading too many areas of our society. Seldom do we find the attitude of ‘how can I assist my fellowman’ being uppermost in the minds of our fellow citizens.
Consider this phone call to a Government Department:
Caller: “I’m calling to report that the flamboyant trees in …. are now overhanging the road and spreading very close to our houses. Could you please have them trimmed for us, especially as it is now hurricane season?”
Response: “Ma’am, that is not our job. It used to be our job but not any longer.”
Caller: Could you direct me then to the department whose job it is?
Response: I am not sure, I just know it is not ours. Sorry, I can’t help you.
So often, we wish the person answering the phone could go one step further and say, “We cannot help but you could try calling this department. Here is the number you could try. Maybe they can help you.
The problem becomes even more severe when information is sought with regards to removing dead animals, removing garbage from the beach or public places or the clearing of overgrown bushy places.
Is it possible for departments to liaise with one another if their functions overlap? It is often difficult for us to realize that together we strive to make our lives and our country better and often it is necessary to go beyond the call of duty (and outside the confines of our ‘job’) to achieve this.
Unfortunately this ‘careless’ attitude is not peculiar to us. (See photo 2 above) This story appeared in a British newspaper:
“Workmen painting white lines on a road left a gap for a dead badger because they said it was not their responsibility to move it. The animal had been killed about a week before on the A338 near Downton, on the Hampshire-Wiltshire border. Hampshire County Council said the workers did what they thought "was best" because it is the district council's job to remove carcasses.”
Now even if it was not the workmen’s job to remove the dead animal, couldn’t they just move it aside to paint the lines?
We see such attitudes appearing in so many areas of our lives today.
Consider this attitude shown when a call was made to a private company:
Caller: “Can I speak to Mr. James?”
Response: “He is not here.”
Caller: “Does he still work there?”
Response: “Yes, but he ain’t here.”
Caller: “Can you tell me when I can call back?”
Response: “You could call back anytime but I don’t know when he coming back.”
Here again, the person does not consider it her job to volunteer any further information
So often, we wish the person answering the phone would extend her services to ask, “Is there any way I can help you? Would you like to leave a message? Or… his secretary/assistant is here. Would you like to speak to her or leave a message?’
We know that by helping a fellow human being in anyway possible helps to create a more pleasant social and physical environment and therefore we serve ourselves by serving others.
To conclude, here is a quote, which may seem trite at first but in it is the wisdom we must grasp to become more civic-minded.
“There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that, because it was Everybody's job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it but Nobody realised that Everybody wouldn't do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”
