A word to the wise: Don't raise grumpy kids.
More and more, American business honors workers who can deliver a product or service with a smile -- even if they are having a bad day.
Last week, I was having a bad day. An HVAC repairman had delivered the troubling news that our heat pump's compressor was kaput, and because our unit was almost 20 years old a replacement part would be astronomically expensive ... if you could even find one.
For a professional worrier, the heat pump had already been on my mind. I was aware that a 20-year-old heat pump is like a 100-year-old human: Every additional year is a bonus.
So, heat and air conditioning being a nonnegotiable part of modern life, my wife and I decided to shop for a new HVAC unit. I dutifully called three reputable local service companies and got quotes on new systems, which turned out to be about twice as expensive as our old unit.
In deciding which company to hire, I took into account price, product and popularity -- popularity being my term for the tone of the businesses' online comments. Almost no one I know makes a major purchase anymore without looking at the online reviews and comments.
What we 20th-century people used to call "word-of-mouth" is now aggregated and amplified by online reviews on Google, Yelp, Angi and other sources.
Scroll down through the comments and you can get a good idea about the company's culture. Cheerful productive workers are praised by name. For the first time in human history, our work lives are being judged hour by hour by current and potential customers.
Even information careers, such as news reporting, are measured by online metrics. For examples, our reporters and columnists here at the Times Free Press know which of their articles and columns have "performed well" online. I teach a class at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and college professors are subject to crowd-source ratings, too. Students are influenced by such websites as Rate My Professors. I know because I asked them.
But back to my heat-pump story.
My choice of HVAC contractors was influenced by positive online reviews. Scrolling through the comments, you can tell almost immediately whether most customers of a company are satisfied or miffed.
When the installers arrived to put in our new heat pump, I asked their names and told them I really hoped to give them a really good online review.
Good service promotes what is known as a "virtuous cycle," which Webster's defines as "a chain of events in which one desirable occurrence leads to another, which further promotes the first occurrence and so on, resulting in a continuous process of improvement."
As consumers, we are part of that virtuous circle. I got great service from the HVAC employees. They were polite and persistent when they ran into a wiring issue that significantly lengthened their work day. In turn, I bought them dinner and thanked them by name in my five-star Google review.
For all I've read about how contentious Americans are in 2023, it strikes me that technology is forcing all of us to get better at our jobs and to spread praise (when deserved) in the process.
Our children live in this American meritocracy, and we do them a great service if we teach them how to flourish in this positive feedback loop.
When our 16-year-old left for his new job one day last week, I reminded him: "Remember, Son, be nice to your customers."
"I will, Dad, I will," he said, as he dashed out the back door.
Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-645-8937.