With all due respect !!!

Have you ever been in a meeting and had a colleague use the phrase -'with all due respect'.  In my experience, this usually means that they are about to treat you with utter disrespect and they are quite probably about to pour complete derision onto whatever opinion you have just voiced.  The first time it happened  I was completely unprepared and even offended by their scorn - but live and learn and I now realise that it is a phrase that can be a used when dealing with a difficult person; not that I was ever difficult of course!  

Sometimes in a meeting situation, we have opinions and even personal agendas which may be at odds with the normal culture of the meeting.  I am a woman and sometimes that fact alone meant that I've held different views or opinions than the rest of my male colleagues, regardless, if you really what to give a polite put down - "With all due respect" is just the way to do it.

My mother always told me...You get more flies with honey than withvinegar".

Have you ever read the little book by Robert Fulghum, "All I really need to know I learned in Kindergarten"? This amazing book illustrates so beautifully that if we all remember the caring and sharing lessons that we learnt as children we would work co-operatively together, treat others with respect and walk softly upon the earth.  Sounds easy, doesn't it?  When I was little we learnt to say please and thank you as soon as we could talk and I went on to teach this to my children. I'm pleased to say they have gone on to teach it to theirs...however, it seems sometimes that we have forgotten these lessons.

In today's retail environment it is often hard to see that the lessons learnt in Kindergarten have been retained.  

My staff are constantly being surveyed about the level of customer service they provide and for the most part, the results show that they provide excellent service. However, sometimes from my office I hear customers getting really rude at the counter and even swearing at them. Customer service staff are always in a no-win situation - they try hard to calm customers down, and explain why we may be unable to fulfil everyone's wish list but unfortunately no matter how wonderful your customer service training is, how high your company standards and how customer-focused your company culture, not every transaction goes as smoothly as everyone would like.  Sometimes this can be that you are unable to fulfil the customers' wishes and sometimes price may be an issue. Usually, this is completely out of the control of the customer-facing staff and it is unreasonable to have a temper tantrum at the counter.  So take a breathe and remember - what would you Mother have said!!!