The Wheels on the Bus Go…
It was a rainy Saturday in Melbourne and the trains had been replaced by buses. The bus came and it was a bit squishy but hec, we were on our way.
What astonished me most was some of the other clients who shared the ride with us. One person told the bus driver that he was going the wrong way and not stopping where we should. This person spoke with great authority because he used to drive the same route 25 years ago. ‘I know what it’s like mate and I know you’re going the wrong ‘expletive’ way’. Except of course he didn’t use the word ‘expletive’ at all, he said an expletive.
The bus driver was a model of diplomacy and tact.
‘I’m terribly sorry sir this is the route I have been instructed to go. Here are my instructions for today’ and calmly handed over an efficient looking piece of photocopied paper with a spreadsheet on it.
Another client insisted that the bus driver should let him off at a specific place and he really needed to be at this specific place, for this specific reason, even though it was not a regular bus stop.
Again the driver was cool, calm and collected. ‘I’m terribly sorry this is not one of our designated stops’. When pressed again the driver pointed out that he could lose his job if he complied with this whim. We were just jolly grateful to get from point A to Point B safely, in comfort and for free.
Have we always been this ungrateful, this demanding and disrespectful? The drivers are doing their job the best they can. Grouchiness and cantankerousness do not make the wheels go round and round. Manners, patience, graciousness and gratitude on the other hand…