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Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Humble Pie

I ate the humble pie 2 Saturdays ago, and I didn't die like I thought I would.

No, I am not proud, but there are many things I would not take. Way back in Secondary School, some of my seniors used to call me "polietly rude". Now that used to get me in stitches (behind their backs of course, if not, I'm sure I may not have been alive to tell the Story today). How can someone be polite and rude at the same time?

Where was I...? Ahh, the humble pie...

I had to make some beads for a customer, but she didn't like the materials I used. Unfortunately, she didn't mention it to me before I made it, I used crystals and she didn't like the fact that they were shiny. it was when she saw the picture she mentioned it to me. I was flustered. What do I do? I had already spent the money on these beads. Who would I sell them to? By the way, I had spent about 3-4 nights steadfastly on this as I work during the day. I had even told her two weeks, but it was ready before then. 

I took a picture of the beads after I was done and used it as my blackberry Display Picture. She pinged me and asked why I was using her jewelry as her DP, and said she didn't like the beads I used. I got irritated. Was she telling me to ask for permission before I used my "work" as my Dp? We started going backwards and forward with me saying I informed her about using crystals and she saying she didn't know what they were. At the end of the day, I just told her i'd refund her money, and she agreed.

I told my tutor, who gave me a lesson on being more patient and tolerant. I ended up apologizing to my client and telling her i'd make a new jewelry for her, but will send her a picture of the beads before I actually made it. Surprisingly, she said she'll take the ones I had made earlier. I insisted that I could and wanted to make a new one, but she said she was fine with it.

In the end, I sent it to her, and that was the end of the matter.

I learnt a big lesson that day- 

  1. The customer is always right because they hold the purse! 
  2. If you render services, get ready to take it all- money, insults, praise, criticism. It will never kill you.
  3. As the Bible says, a gentle answer really does calm wrath. She just wanted me to apologize, and that was rather hard for me at first, but It didn't take anything out of me. 
  4. The Humble pie never kills. Heck, you don't even purge when you eat it sef. Lol

oh, I 'll use this opportunity to mention that I make really nice jewelry. Please holler if you or anyone you know is interested. Thank you.

16 comments :

  1. My word for today; the humble pie never kills. Great post!

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  2. Yeah, customers they say are always right...no go overchop humble pie den collect slap one day o. Lol. That "pie" sure does work wonders anyway...

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  3. A customer can make or mar your business. Referrals work better than advertising, so that's why its good to satisfy customers.

    But sometimes, customers are annoying oo.

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    Replies
    1. so true. Referrals and a good attitude do all the advertising for you!

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  4. wow...i love how you shared your lesson with us and believe me when i say God has a way of making us become humble in the transformation process and at first, it might hurt so much but its to make us become more and more like Him, Like Jesus
    it cant purge you...LOL....neither does it kill
    its just on the checklist of metarmophising...
    nice one EMA. God bless

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    1. Thank you so much dear.

      The funny thing is its just our ego that can't take most things. Once that is out of the way, we realize that we are actually nothing but people.

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  5. Lol.. ohh wow..
    Humble pie isn't always the best tasting but it definitely gets better and longer lasting results.

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    Replies
    1. definitely no the best tasting pie at all. But it teaches us some very important lessons we need in life.

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  6. Nice one! Note to self... The humble pie doesn't kill.
    Saw pics of your jewellery... Nice!
    P.S. I was also said to dish out polite insults in secondary school too, ℓσℓ! Doesn't make sense, jare... Polite insults!

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    1. Lol at the note to yourself.

      Thanks dearie, but make sure you patronize me, please (wink)

      Polite insults, huh? Don't mind them jare, all those wicked seniors in school.

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  7. Our day to day experiences teaches us a thing or two.

    But is the customer always right sef?

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    1. Well, that's another story for another day. But in all fairness, you are in business because of the customer, so yes, the customer IS always right.

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  8. Really glad for the lesson in this. Been doing lot of "service providing" lately - and quite often, the customer is misguided.

    But that pie didn't kill you. So, maybe, it should become a staple for me.

    In the end, the customer is always right!

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    1. Staple ke? Abeg ooo, don't eat too much of it ooo! That way it will definitely purge you.

      Looool!

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  9. loool the humble pie is sometimes the worst to eat.... its even much worse than some egg noodles I ate a few days back lol. But anyway to the point, it's important that through every situation we find ourselves in, we pick out the lesson we are supposed to learn from it. Thank God you had someone in that moment to point it out, so next time you'll be able to better deal with the challenge when a similar one is presented to you.

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