Social media has created a cyber veil between the harsh words we furiously finger hack into the ether and the negative impacts those haphazard paragraphs can have on fellow humans. When the indignant take to their devices to rap out negative commentary, there is an assumed additional layer of separation as we often feel like we are taking on the evil corporations rather than the individual humans who operate that entity. Our economy is global, our words are social, yet the implications of our rants always hit locally. 

Remember that as a human, our actions as humans impact other humans. If we have a good experience with an establishment, our words can filter through to affirming the good work of humans building that organization. Conversely, in those times when our persons are offended and we lash out at the monstrosity of some name brand organization, those verbal fires burn down to the the local level as our feedback finds its way to impacting humans. For good or bad the layers of separation between our words and their impacts on humans are only imaginary, the only veil is that we cannot see when the embers of our outrage reach flesh. 

From recent memory there was a particularly harsh winter in our local area that impacted power to many residents, ourselves included. While people were being inconvenienced by nature, many of them were taking to social media to decry the service of their local facilities providers. The local impact was such that emergency crews were being transported in from across the region and even some assistance from the other coast. What many humans were not taking into account while their fingers were raging was that humans were the ones out in that same weather that was impacting their homes. Humans, who were likely living with similar scenarios in their homes, were leaving their families to work around the clock to serve others. Humans were entering boom lifts to address downed power lines in extreme weather. While humans were raging against the machine they were missing the reality that their words were impacting humans who were helping to solve the issues, whether the offended humans felt it was happening fast enough or not. 

When an experience with an organization is less than satisfactory, rather than storming the gates of social media with indignation, if one wants to make an impact email or call the offending company directly. Remember as a human that other humans make mistakes, humans sometimes have bad days and humans sometimes need more training when they are put in positions they are not ready for. Humans can still send emails and make phone calls directly to the establishments causing offense, providing the humans in that organization the opportunity to respond as humans and potentially make earnest recompense for their actions that have offended fellow humans. Without the input of humans to other humans, humans are unable to act as humans towards humans. Be a human. 

There are few things in life that cost you very little and yet can have significant positive collateral impact in the life of another human. Paying someone a compliment will only cost you a few seconds of air and yet it has the potential to be a seed or a watering that flourishes in the life of a fellow human. We are well aware that words have the power to bring us to our knees, but words from the same stink filled sources also have the power also to lift spirits, raise confidence and inspire momentum. 
 
We recently had a very pleasant experience at a local eatery with a new waitress. What this young lady lacked in experience she more than made up for with the eagerness of a human who enjoyed helping fellow humans. Our waitress was personable, she smiled as she worked and greeted patrons with cheer. Our waitress was busy but she did not allow that to inhibit her from communicating with care. For example, we had requested non essential items from the kitchen, she politely stated, "I will grab those for you as soon as I clear this table so these customers can be seated." We made sure to inform her manager of her value, to tip well and to express our gratitude for this customer service professional in the making. 
 
For many industries, service is an essential component of the product offering. Those who interact with customers communicate with their attitudes, personas, body language, word choice, pronunciation, etc. When service providers create a positive experience for customers they create an atmosphere where patrons become those who will want to return to spend their dollars in the organization.

We try to celebrate our positive customer feedback as we understand how many layers are baked into the process of bringing a positively finished customer experience confection from the project oven. When a patron chooses to hire our company, appreciates the process, enjoys our people's efforts, awards our team with a payment in full and then ices that cake with positive feedback, that's a party. We keep those nuggets of human positivity on our Wall of Fame and incorporate the details of their experience in our weekly meetings. For those out there who have taken pen to paper, fingers to keyboard and have joined the positive posting fans of an organization that has done them right, many thanks! 

As consumers of service and as humans of the same race, it is important that we vocalize our gratitude. The paying of an earnest compliment has few equals on return in human value. The example of paying an earnest compliment has the potential to create a tsunami of positive momentum, as those that directly experience its effect are awakened to a universe as it should be. Life can be simplified as well as dignified when humans treat humans as humans. Enjoy the art in life, positive practitioners of customer service are artists with a human pallet. 

Get your compliment check book out and start making some payments. 

When you have four children, Disney movies come with the territory...all of them. Every now and again, a decent one comes along. Every now and now and again one comes along that is done really well. For those of you that don't have kids and would feel creepy going to a movie theater to watch a children's movie, you may have missed Zootopia. 

The brief backstory, there is a bunny, Judy Hopps, that wants to become a police officer. She is idealistic and ambitious but there has never been a bunny police officer on the Zootopia Police Department, her own parents believe the venture is too dangerous and no one believes that she can do it. As most children's stories go, the hardworking dreamer finds a way to achieve her goal, YAY! End of story, the movie is what we all thought it would be, right? Not quite.

Judy Hopps becomes a police officer, there is a big ceremony and this historic first is politically lauded while simultaneously scoffed under the breath of most. Our heroine shows up for duty her first day at the ZPD and while everyone else is assigned to beats that have significance, young Hopps is assigned to lowly parking duty. Her boss, Chief Bogo declares, "Life isn't some cartoon musical where you sing a little song and your insipid dreams magically come true, so let it go." Parking duty it is.  

I'll try not to ruin the story too much but in short, Judy has a dream that has been laughed at since she was a child and even discouraged by her own parents. Ms. Hopps is able to find a way to achieve her dreams but once she makes it she finds there are still hills to climb if her dream is going to be fully realized. She excels in her original assignment and finds a means to acquire an assignment of significance that also comes with great personal risk. Officer Hopps has some initial success but reaches a point where she is ready to quit until she receives some inspiration and valuable assistance from an unlikely friend. Judy reaches what should be the pinnacle by cracking a case that no one else was able to solve. She is celebrated as a hero she is commemorated by the establishment but also makes a well intentioned blunder. She publicly putts her rabbit foot in her mouth in a big way, which proves to be a mistake that ripples into broad reaching negative impacts. Judy faces new challenges to deepen her understanding of what is important, to restore relationships, to find the resolve to create solutions as well as fight for success in the pursuit of her dreams. 

The philosophy of life so often promoted is that of get rich or die trying, when the reality is that the quality of life is a richer pursuit than becoming the next mega millionaire. Regardless of the end goal, the journey to any level of success is not one large hill with an epic battle to the top it is a series of hills with many battles, surviving many deaths and continuing momentum when each sequence reveals a new set of challenges. With Zootopia the takeaway isn't as much the often repeated, if you have a dream you can achieve it but a more apt overview of life where you may achieve it but that doesn't mean the battle is over. Keep doing good things. 

Our family fan faire video version of The Cookie Duck Dance song from The Truth Podcast - Songonauts Episode 2. Our video includes production and camera work by @iz_fnb, acting by @TheLegitAbbie and @caidenvents. 

@TheTruthFiction Podcast is Movies for your ears. Part of @radiotopia from PRX. @Songonauts is a creation of The Truth Podcast. You can hear the original The Cookie Duck Dance in it's entirety on the bandcamp for Jonathan Mann http://jonathanmann.bandcamp.com/album/songonauts 

@iz_fnb / izvents.weebly.com
@TheLegitAbbie / legitabbie.wordpress.com