Happy Thanksgiving (Belated)

A belated Thanksgiving greeting to you all!

This year was interesting for me...I hosted a dinner for the first time in about 15 years.  There were five people including myself and we had a very nice meal.  The company was wonderful as some of these people have known me for about 20 years.

During the meal, I thought back on what I had to be thankful for and then I thought about some of the more difficult customers and co-workers I have encountered over the years.  I came to think the difficult people break down into six basic types:

• The "Know-It-Alls" - These people are never wrong and always get defensive when they are called out.  Needless to say, these types of people are difficult to work with almost impossible to please from a customer service perspective.
• The "Passives" - These people are the kind that drive everyone crazy because they can't (or won't make a decision).  You can never really get a bead on them and eventhough they never know exactly what they want, the decisions you make are never right for them
• The "Dictators" - Bullies.  enough said.
  
• The "Yes" People - These people, while appearing to be friendly and on your side, always say "yes" or agree with you aboput whatever you're proposing.  Unfortunately, you just can't trust them.  How can you trust someone who will never tell you no?
• The "No" People - These people are just the opposite of the "yes" folks.  They are inflexible and again, can't be trusted...
• The "Gripers" - These people just like to complain and fail to offer solutions.  For example, co-workers who complain about management or policies but never take the risk or time to talk to the manager or address the policy.  Or the customer who simply can not be satisfied for any reason whatsoever and refuses any reasonable customer service solution.

Then I thought about the customer who comes in every day who is a paraplegic.  I'l call him "Dave".  He always smiles, has a great attitude and tips generously.  everyone in the store loves him because he is truly like a ray of sunshine.  The energy in the store lifts when he comes in and lasts a little while after he leaves.  Thinking about him made me truly thankful for my friends, family, and situation in life.

I began to wonder:  If any of these six types of people swapped places for a day with Dave, would they still be as difficult to deal with?