A sense of entitlement

Am I simply becoming more cynical in my old age (don't answer that!), but it feels like these days there's more and more people either not being held accountable for their actions or we feel a sense of entitlement when things aren't going our way.

We're making more and more demands on our employers, schools, doctors, government etc etc and expecting them to fix all our problems.  I'm going to skirt round the fact that our government lie at every opportunity and make the chimps tea party look sophisticated.  However, the fact is that we still expect them to fix everything.

It's a very fine balance because on one hand we shouldn't be settling for second best and should, quite rightly, be demanding good service from everyone we come across, but we also shouldn't expect them to fix every little thing.  Nobody wants to receive bad service but mistakes do happen.  When they do, we jump straight onto social media and bad mouth them.  In my view however, you can still have a good customer experience despite initially receiving bad service.  When things go wrong, all you really want at the end of the day is an apology and the mistake to be fixed as soon as possible.  When someone listens to me, understands my frustration, apologises and ultimately fixes the problem then I will leave as a satisfied customer.

First and foremost, we need to look at ourselves.  I remember as a child whinging about this, that and the other and my parents would always stop me in my tracks by saying "so what are YOU going to do about it".  For example, if I was whinging about it being too cold to play outside, I would eventually (after making my parents ears bleed by the whinging) come up with games I could play inside.  As we get older, and the rose-tinted glasses view of the world we had as a child starts to wear off, many of us forget that we still have that child-like imagination and ability inside of us to 'think outside the box'.

We're not entitled to have everything fixed by other people, we need to take accountability and find solutions to problems even when something may not feel fully in our control.

• If you aren't happy with services in your local area, what are YOU doing about it?  At the moment, we're stuck with our current government but that doesn't mean we can't do anything at all.  We have some fantastic local MP's out there, whatever party they belong to, who are willing to fight for their local constituents.

• If things aren't going well at work, what are YOU doing about it?  Don't moan about the fact that your employer doesn't do this or that, speak to them and suggest new ideas.  In my experience, employers are desperate to get feedback from their employees.  

• If things aren't going well with your child at school, what are YOU doing about it?  Don't instantly blame the whole school, talk to the teachers that you and your child have a good relationship with and find out where things are going wrong.  Could you be doing more with your child at home?

• If your current doctor doesn't listen to you, what are YOU doing about it?  Our health service is under extreme pressure right now but that doesn't mean you should be settling for poor service.  Ask to change doctors and tell them why you want to change.  Are there more preventative measures you could be taking at home so you have to visit the doctor less in the first place, ie, healthy eating, exercise, looking after your mental health.  Doctors and hospitals are there for when things go seriously wrong but ultimately we are accountable for our own health.

• If the server in your local shop is rude, what are YOU doing about it?  Give them the biggest smile they've seen all day - they could be having a really bad day.  If they're always like that then kill them with kindness, smile and always be polite, don't stoop to their level.  If all else fails, shop elsewhere!

Hopefully, the above examples will give you some idea of the point I'm trying to get across.  There's been some very positive stories recently of what can be achieved when we pull together, such as black lives matter and the u-turn on school meals spearheaded by Marcus Rashford. Those changes started with one very strong voice and many others then joined in to change things so don't ever feel you are powerless.

Let's face it, life isn't easy at the best of times but don't walk around with a sense of entitlement for every little thing.  It's very easy to judge when we don't know or understand the full context of something, but before you go storming in with your size 9 boots (well, a tiny size 3 in my case so that's not going to do much damage!), pause, take a moment to reflect on the situation and look to yourself first.

Slightly heavy topic this week I know but hey, I write about what's on my mind at the time and this was it.  Let's hope it's something a bit lighter next week!

#2021