I hope not. I personally don’t think so, but a recent news story about an older man, slapping a crying two-year-old boy left me shaking my head and wondering. I am not sure if it is just me getting older, but I have been feeling more and more lately, that people are just downright rude. It seems that good manners are getting harder and harder to find, why is that?
The man in the story was sitting next to the Mom and the toddler and when the plane started to make it’s descent, the child started to cry. The man slapped the child, was supposedly overheard uttering racial slurs and told the mother to keep her kid quiet. Thankfully other passengers came to their aid, so it seems the whole world hasn’t lost their minds, but I feel like stories like this one are getting more and more common. Here is the story from USA Today.
I have noticed that more and more people are answering their phones in restaurants, and speaking loudly, with no consideration for those around them. There seems to be more rude children, to whom the words/phrases “please”, “thank you” or “excuse me” are like a foreign language. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone out of my way to hold a door open for someone, and never gotten a thank you, or even a smile. One of my biggest pet peeves is foul language in public. Well it don’t like it in private either, but I find it really offensive when out in mixed company in public. It is almost as if the people doing it don’t even realize it’s offensive. I personally have always equated foul language with a lack of class, and honestly I still do. Several years back I visited Virginia Beach and was thrilled to see the signs all around prohibiting foul language. That’s my kind of town. Unfortunately I have never seen that anywhere else.
Business wise, there have been numerous people that I have encountered that have been rude. I have had several possible applicants show up really, really late and not even apologize. I have been stood up countless times, even after confirming the appointment that same day. One time I was meeting a young lady to pick up the security deposit for a rental property. I had to go to the property anyway, so I told her I would meet her so she wouldn’t have to drive as far. She had been about a half hour late when I showed the property, but I had several other showings scheduled fifteen minutes apart, and the other people were early so it worked out ok. By the time I had finished what I needed to do at the property, she had not shown up. I called her and she did not answer. She was already a half hour late at that point. I left a message saying I would wait fifteen more minutes, and then had to move on to my next appointment. She did not call me back, but her father did, saying she was having car trouble, could I wait a half an hour, she needed to get a ride. I said I would, but that was my limit, I had another appointment in one hour and needed to get there. A half hour passed and she did not show up. I left, as I was leaving the complex, I saw her pulling into the complex (in the same vehicle she had been driving previously). I did not go back, I had another appointment and had already wasted enough of my time. She called me and was really irritated that I left. She said” I saw you leaving the complex, and you must have seen me, but you just left anyway” I was flabbergasted. I tried to explain that I had another appointment, I had already gone way out of my way, and I had to leave period. She told me that she was late because her grandmother was in the hospital, and couldn’t I please just cut her and break and come back. Funny her father never mentioned that when he said her car broke down.
I strongly urged that owner to re-consider renting to her. The owner was a “placement only”, so I didn’t have to deal with her, but I didn’t want the owner to have to deal with her either. In my opinion, someone who is that ill mannered will be a problem. After all manners are a sign of respect, both for the other person and for your self. The lack of them, would indicate a lack of respect for others for yourself, for the property etc…
The owner actually decided to rent to her, even after my strong recommendation not to. They moved forward, signed a lease with her, and she moved in on a Saturday. The following Monday morning (I remember it because it was a holiday), I was getting texts from her and calls from the owner, that she wanted out of her lease. She decided she couldn’t afford it. She had no respect for the fact that she signed a lease, a legally binding contract between her and the owner. I luckily did not have to be involved with that, but the owner allowed her out of the lease and in the two days she was there, she trashed the place. She somehow stopped up the brand new toilet the owner had put in upstairs and the place was flooded when they came to get it ready to re-rent.
On a positive note, my peers in the real estate business and the majority of my owners and tenants are pleasant, and well mannered. So it seems to me that manners do still have their place in the professional arena. Now if only they would find their back to the malls and restaurants, and movie theaters. One can always hope.
No comments:
Post a Comment