Integrity - it's a lost art.

It's been months since I blogged, not out of a lack of thoughts but more so out of a time of thinking and reflecting. I'll blog soon about the house in Florida, the OCC team in Canada, and, yes, Jared's wedding to Rhiannon. They're all important, and many of you have been asking for details (and pictures). I'll get there, I promise.

Speaking of promises - I've been, as they say in Britain, gobsmacked* with the lack of integrity in business lately. For now, let's set aside the reason why we each feel called to represent well when we give our word. In business, where one would think competition would bring about good business standards, I've found just the opposite. Here are some examples:

1) Our neighbor tells us not to bother changing pool services because "they all stink". Sadly, our realtor said the same thing when I asked her for a referral.

2) Our Canada movers told me on a Friday night how to plan for Monday morning. Monday morning brought a completely different plan, with the promise that 'this plan' was correct. 4 changes and a week  later with no communication, the "customer service" rep. said, "Oh, my husband's in the military; I know how important it is to be kept up on changes...". Seriously? Yet she never thought to call me?

In the last 24 hours:

3) We made an appt. for a taxi. I called to make sure it went through, and they said they'd call "right back". An hour later, I called again, they took the info. over the phone and verified everything. This morning, they showed but changed the fare 'due to the price of gas'. I'm guessing fuel prices went up overnight...

4) At 8:45 am, I called about a delivery for today. The owner said he'd call me back within the hour. Still waiting on that call...

5) Our Virginia movers had a 'delivery window' of April 3-10th. This morning's email said they'll be here on the 11th. (Ummm...)

6) I scheduled a service appt. for today, and at 4:00, I called to see if they were still coming. They said they'd call me right back. (It's 6:05...)

What am I missing? I'm not complaining; really, I'm not, but we have made plans around what these businesses have told us. It's not only cost us time & money, but it shakes my eternal optimism just a tad. I like thinking the best of people. I want to encourage people and make them smile. I'm having a tough time with both right now...

Tomorrow's a new day. I'm hopeful.

*Gobsmacked combines the northern English and Scottish slang term gob, mouth, with the verb smack. It suggests the speaker is utterly astonished or astounded. It’s much stronger than just being surprised; it’s used for something that leaves you speechless, or otherwise stops you dead in your tracks. It suggests that something is as surprising as being suddenly hit in the face.