This past weekend I was out of town for a convention with some friends. Sitting outside our hotel rooms we were discussing everything under the sun. At one point in our ongoing discussion, relating to working with other people, my friend Lisa stated “We train people how to treat us.” That statement illustrated our personal responsibility in how we are treated as human beings.
My personal viewpoint is to treat all people with respect, until they prove they don’t deserve it. Likewise I require all people treat me and those that I am with with respect. I do not tolerate rude or disrespectful behavior from those I interact with. If someone is behaving in a manner I feel it is rude or disrespectful I point out their behavior and asked them to change their attitude. If that doesn’t work, and they have a supervisor or manager available I asked to speak to that person. If those two attempts do not bring about the desired results I simply stop doing business with that individual or company. It normally does not come to that.
We all can have a bad day, and when that happens we sometimes say things we do not mean or use the tone we would not normally use. When that happens a simple reminder of how we are acting is normally enough to help us straighten out our own attitude. It never pays to lower yourself to the other person’s level by treating them in a rude or disrespectful manner. Everyone will have a much more pleasant experience if you point out the offensive behavior and make it known you will not tolerate it.