A rare, rare skill that – I think – is getting ever-rarer.
Is being bothered.
Have a think about that for a moment.
(If you can be bothered).
Because tucked away behind this notion, are business and a life opportunities – for all of us.
I think salt cellars run out of salt in restaurants and cafes because nobody could be bothered to check them.
I think menus lie stained and crumpled on coffee shop tables because nobody could be bothered processing the fact that – to me – shitty menu means shitty kitchen means shitty food.
I think people answering phones in businesses say, ‘sorry, Paul’s not here now – can you call back?’ because they can’t be bothered taking a coherent message – and asking Paul to call me.
And I think people that are bigger or smaller thisser or thatter than they’d like, is mostly because they can’t be bothered doing what’s needed to get where they (say they) want.
We have this little dog hotel in one of our holiday cottages. I had to be bothered putting dog wallpaper in it, to make it as good as it could be. It hurt my knees.
Before every guest visits, I have to be bothered weighing exactly 50 grams of coffee beans into a little brown bag. Then I have to be bothered to write every guest’s name, and their dog’s name, on the bag. So they simply grind-and-use the exact amount needed for the (unfamiliar) cafetière we provide. It’s bit of a faff.
And instead of saying to our cottage visitors – at the end of their stay – just leave the key inside the cottage. We have to be bothered packing a bigger brown bag – stamped with ‘Bye for Now’ – with bottles of water, sweet snacks and savoury snacks, for their journey home. It costs a bit of money, and adds to the to-do list.
It’s really nice that guests at Old Post Office Holiday Cottages in Northumberland talk about dog wallpaper, pre-weighed coffee beans and Bye for Now bags.
When you can be bothered – they notice.
A rare, rare skill that – I think – is getting ever-rarer.
Is being bothered.
Have a think about that for a moment.
(If you can be bothered).
Because tucked away behind this notion, are business and a life opportunities – for all of us.