The “Happy” Cable Guy

On a dark and stormy Saturday afternoon, I was disappointed to find our downstairs cable box was not working. My wife and children were watching TV upstairs and I was downstairs getting ready to watch the Notre Dame play football.  I called the cable company and requested someone to come to our house. They told me someone would be there between 4 and 6.

Around 4:45, the doorbell rang. Salvation was at the door. The problem was that salvation was not a happy employee. He was not a danger or angry towards us. But he hated the company he worked for. He spent the entire 37 minutes of his visit, of which he spent two minutes diagnosing the problem and determining that we needed a new cable box, three minutes in his truck looking for the correct cable box, and five minutes installing the new box. The rest of the time he spent complaining about his job, the corporate policies at the cable company, and the fact that he might have to charge us for the visit (He didn’t).

My wife knows how well I “deal” with negative people. She quietly snuck back upstairs as I watched the guy fix our issue. She believed that at any moment I would fire the worker and tell him to leave our house. I did not. Though it might have had a little to do with the fact that I had the game streaming on my smartphone and Notre Dame was winning, the main reason why I did not fire him was that I genuinely felt sorry for this guy. There was no way he should still be working for the cable company. Somehow, he felt that he was trapped in the company and could not get out soon enough. He was not taking responsibility for his thoughts, his actions, or his words. He told me that he was going to retire in two years. What type of retirement would he have? Would he complain about the company every day for the rest of his life?

After he left, I watched the remainder of the Notre Dame game through our cable box. I kept thinking about the “happy” cable guy. What would happen if he looked for side work to augment his retirement incomes? I strongly believe that everyone should have an exit strategy to augment one’s retirement savings. Today was his interview, his only shot to get the job, or even be considered for the job. He didn’t do well. He will not be hired by us. If he ever developed a side business that we needed, we would look elsewhere. He was out. He failed the interview. How would the outcome have changed if he had a positive attitude? I do not know for sure, but the interview results would have been better. Take responsibility for your thoughts, your words, and your actions. They set the tone for your interview. Someone is always watching. Every day is an interview.