May 15, 2009

“Thanks for the dinner but we really wanted some seafood.”

Professional gratitude, like many traditional virtues, is becoming difficult to find. 

A friend organized a customer dinner on short notice.  With little information on how many would attend and what would be the most convenient location, he did a remarkable job pulling everything together.  Replete with an entertaining dinner speaker and a delicious meal, the evening was enjoyable.  Without knowing better, even the savviest of guests would have presumed there was much planning and organization invested to their benefit. 

As a sign of the times in which we live, the senior executive on the client side approached my friend as he left the venue and remarked, “Thanks for the dinner but we really wanted some seafood.”  It was all I could do to keep from spewing my last sip of cranberry juice.  This would surely become a quote to be used at dinners with my friend for years to come.  The corollaries could be endless:

            “Thanks for the dinner but I really didn’t like the restaurant.”

            “Thanks for the lunch but I wasn’t in the mood for a sandwich.”

            “Thanks for the breakfast but I was hoping for a buffet.”

You get the idea.  You also probably know that as horses grow old, their teeth become a telltale sign.  Their age, as well as their general overall health, can be estimated by looking at how far their teeth have moved from their gums.  From this assessment comes the adage, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth”, meaning that we should not question the value of a gift.

As one who is getting a bit “long in the tooth” himself, I cherish the moments when there are true expressions of gratitude.  Likewise, I squirm during those times when boorishness seems to rule the day.

Professional courtesies, grace, and gratitude add great savor not only to dinners, but also to business relationships.  And that’s “straight from the horse's mouth”.

May 15, 2009