There was a time, long ago, when formulating rules was big business. 10 Commandments (and also the Beatitudes), Gospels, Koran, Book of Mormon, etc. etc. You couldn’t do religion without a few rules that people would slavishly follow, regardless of relevance or obsolescence. If it makes sense – fine! If it is only relevant to dietary considerations of one, small region, long before science and hygiene prevailed – then poppycock! This might offend anyone bogged down in religious ethos, but if you want to mindlessly follow some ancient guide, then possibly the Kama Sutra would be more interesting.
However you believe, it is a fact that we no longer promulgate rules. Not from any ethical point of view, that is. We are inundated with ‘rules’ for eating – 5-a-day veggies, vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, don’t eat the 5-a-day unless you use our toothpaste to prevent damage to your teeth caused by the fruit we recommended and the mouthwash that dissolves enamel (oops!). Don’t ever mention hexachlorophene in the stripes.
So how about some Ethical Rules for Ethical Times.
If you are the person in charge, you are responsible for your predecessors. Don’t ever say that you ‘can’t consider what happened before you came’, because the lowly Janes and Joes were here long before you came, and injustice spans generations.
If you work for a Call-Centre (for a bad example, BT), then you represent the Company. When people say that they have been receiving truly, monumentally bad service, and have been driven to incandescent fury by their treatment by the company (and the Call-Centre), then do NOT get annoyed, and take it personally. It is the company that the paying customer is angry with, not the ‘advisor’. If the ‘advisor’ then behaves like a petulant moron, and snaps at the customer – that is personal. And the customer then has the right to consider the ‘advisor’ to be a total dunderhead.
When you say that you will increase a charge, then say that you will not, you are doing no favour and giving no gift. You are merely doing nothing. Chancellors of the Exchequer, please take note!
That’s three for starters. I’m sure that there are many more that are worthy of inclusion ( creationism is NOT, so don’t bother. Go check out the Flat Earth!), but it will do for now. You may argue that call-centre does not deserve capitalisation, and I may well agree.
One more. And it’s an important one.
FAQ. They tell me that it means ‘Frequently Asked Questions’. This is a LIE! Every time I look, all I see is ‘Frequently Answered Questions’. Not the ones I ask, but the answers that get given, regardless of the question. So here it is …
The Blog of tachras Book 1 Verse 1 : Answer the bloody question.
We’ll consider your veracity, and ethical standards AFTER you supply the answer to my question.