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46
was a pension plan amounting to one
half the final ycar's pay after a mere
20
Jem·s
of service -
oc,
if you can imag–
ine it, a 38-year-old saoitation worker
demanding to be sent to pasture at
public expense. For that, the workings
of city commerce were virtual!y closed
down for two days.
A compromise postponement of de–
mands was reached on Wednesday, as
Mayor Lindsay left for ALbany to solicit
money from the state budget. The re-
The
PLAIN TRUTH
give you reasons why - guys like me
who want to use the telephone, for
instance.
To telephone thc operator and ask
for a number is an unforgivable act.
The acidic bitterness fairly drips over
the lines as the distraught, overworked,
tired, harried operator listens resignedly
to the request of onc more addlehead
who has the unmitigated gall to disturb
her day by wanting to use the phone.
This kind of telephone "assistance"
Ambouodor College
Photo
When Garbage Worke rs str ike -
Cities become littered with gorbage
when strikers curtail such a vital service. Pictured above was typicol street
scene in Paris, Fra nce when workers quit collecting trash.
mainder of the week was spent in sorne
quite bitter exchanges between the Gov–
ernor and the Mayor over how to
placate thcse "servants" (the payroll of
servants is well over half of the New
York City budget).
But America's un-civil civil servants
aren't the main subject of this article.
l'm primarily discussing the kind of
people you meet every day - whether
traveling, dining, or telecommunicating.
Ever place long-distance telephone
calls overseas?
Placing Telephone Calls–
An
Ordeal
Big city hotel telephone operators are
notoriously short-tempered, and seem to
hate their jobs. Of course, they could
doesn't happen only once in a while, by
the way, but with monotonous regu–
larity.
1
suppose it must
be
the com–
bination of big city living, frequent
drunken brawls labelled "conventions,"
and, perhaps, the very nature of the job
itself, working for hours on end as a
substitute for a piece of machinery,
plugging jacks into Jittle winking boles,
and trying to keep all the buzzers and
lights satisfied.
What Happened to an
"Attitude of Service?"
What's behind the change in attitude
of our serving class? The very term
"serving class" rankles the nerves of
those who serve. To them, service con–
notes the lowest possible prestige, al-
August 1971
though service 1s one of the highest
callings of man.
The roots of this attitude are some–
what easy to pin clown. Overpopulation
and crowding into urban arcas builds
up a certain nervous teosion which is
exprcssed by increased belligerence -
snarling, and sneering at those who in–
vade your Jittle world.
Many are frustrated with their job;
they really want to do something else
entirely! Many employers claim they
can only hire thc mentally retarded and
physically handicapped to do the "dir–
tiest" of service jobs - mopping up,
emptying hospital bedpans, cleanin,g
commodes. No one else will tollch these
jobs.
In a greater sense, surly service repre–
sents a total repudiation of the "Ameri–
can way of Jife," the so-called
"Protestant work ethic," and the weak–
nesses of fellow human beings. Lost
baggage and harsh words reflect the re–
belliousness of our age. We're learning
NOT
tocare.
I believe it was Elbert Hubbard who
once said,
"Jf
1
worked for a man, I
would work for him.
1
would not work
for him part of the time, and against
him the rest of the time. I would either
work for him all the time, or
1
would
not work for him at all."
Perhaps that's good advice for dis–
traught serving personnel, or those who
labor in jobs they hate.
1
have no exact
statistics which indicate the degree of
satisfaction people have with their jobs
- but, judging from the unhappy
faces, I would imagine those who find
their jobs truly rewarding, exciting,
challenging, and fulfilling are in a tiny
minority.
H. Wentworth Eldridge, the editor
of a massive 1200-page volume entitled
Taming Megalopolis
wrote in his pref–
ace that "there are not going to be any
new and shining cities without
new and
shi17ing peopie
in sorne as yet not
entirely clear reciproca! relationship."
That's the key -
new and shining
people.
The "new" is a cbange of atti–
tude, and the "shine" comes from
crushing out that last cigarette, taking a
good long bath, donning clean clothes,
and putting on a happy face.
Service with a smile.
Let's bring it back.
o