It seems that every time I check in on social media pages that are targeted towards the Okmulgee Area, I have to wonder what motivates some people to go public with their thoughts.
I’m not the luckiest person by any means, I get served cold French fries from time to time. If they’re bad, I take them back to the counter and politely ask for new fries. It’s no big deal.
One time in a restaurant I was given a set of silverware that obviously didn’t get clean in the dishwasher. I politely asked for our waitress, I then put the silverware back in the napkin and when the server came to the table, I discreetly opened the napkin to the server so she could see the problem. I didn’t say a word. She nodded to me and simply said I’ll replace those immediately.
I didn’t tell the table next to me, I didn’t say one word out loud about the situation. A minute or two later the manager came to our table and said "Thank you for how you handled that situation. Your meal today is on us and here’s a debit card that should cover your next meal, we hope you’ll come back and visit us soon."
So, in this case the old adage of: “if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all,” really paid off in a very nice way.
All this trash talking on social media about how cold your French fries are, or how the hamburger got squished, is in my opinion counterproductive. When you start living your life like a pro, you’ll be surprised what begins to happen to you.
There is a hidden cost to not acting like a pro. Let’s say you’re applying for a new job. The HR person checks out your posts on social media and low and behold they figure out you’re a complainer and a trouble maker. I seriously doubt they’ll want to hire you.
We have companies looking at Okmulgee all the time who are considering putting in a factory or a new retail store, so when they see the area residents complain about situations that can happen at any time and anywhere, why would they want to have you as a customer?
There are a lot of good people in this town who are working very hard to build up the Okmulgee area. If you can’t be on the team, that’s OK, it’s your choice. Please if you have the ability, always be professional when acting in public or expressing yourself in a public forum like social media. Doing this is as simple as: “Praise in public, criticize in private.”