Dirty Little Story
GM was happy with her life following high school graduation. More education was not for her; she just needed to earn a paycheck to cover her living expenses and an occasional rock concert. But she was determined to do a good job every day – whatever that job may be – to earn the trust of her employer toward steady employment plus the respect of her co-workers.
A friend told GM of an opening as a Receptionist and Assistant Technician at a local veterinarian’s clinic. She loved animals, applied for the job and commenced her 5 days a week, full time job, accepting weekend assignments whenever requested by her employer.
As this Editor was with his dog in the vet’s reception area, he overheard and observed the following:
Vet to two receptionists sitting at their desk: “I just noticed a dog had tracked some dog dirt onto the floor in front of the welcome desk. Please take care of it.”
The receptionist closest to the involved area, GM, immediately stood and walked around her desk to see what she could not have seen while seated. Indeed, there were a a few spots of visible dog dirt directly in front of the desk.
GM opened the nearby closet door, took out a mop, rinsed it in the closet utility sink and then swabbed the reception area floor clean. Next, she mopped the area dry. But before returning the mop to the closet, she apparently and correctly assumed that the dog had not just dropped from the sky to stand in front of the desk – it had likely walked to the front of the desk, tracking the dog dirt in from outside. So GM closely examined the corridor leading from the door to the reception area and found her assumption to be correct: there was more to be cleaned up, along the entire length of the corridor. So she did.
While dealing with the corridor, GM saw that a dog – THE dog? – was sitting with its owner in the reception area. GM approached that duo with soft baby talk often offered to dogs since they are in many ways, like small children.
GM to dog: “Hi, are you the sweetie who has brought us some presents on your paws? Please let me take a look.”
The dog’s owner was friendly and cooperative as GM knelt down, gently inspected the dog’s paws and again found her assumption to be correct. So GM got up, returned to the closet and brought back a roll of paper towels, some of them she had moistened in the closet sink. GM then knelt down and slowly cleaned off each of the dog’s four paws.
POINT OF THIS DIRTY LITTLE STORY
In (1) promptly and cheerfully jumping into action at her employer’s request and (2) totally resolving her original assignment and (3) analyzing the reason for the problem beyond the original assignment and (4) voluntarily increasing her responsibilities from solving the limited problem to resolving the expanded problem, GM acted professionally.
GM’s conduct demonstrated a personality which would be successful in almost any career she was able and willing to pursue.
