Managing expectations

By managing, I really mean learning to live with low expectations. Since the pandemic it seems that most interactions I have that are of a business nature are disappointing. No-not disappointing, frustrating. At first it was generally accepted that we were all working under difficult-unpresidented really, global conditions. Employees were working from home, furloughed or just let go. The lucky ones (essential) continued to work, albeit a modified schedule. Production was slowed or halted or forced to close period. Adjust. Be kind. We will get through this together. We did get through in a fashion but the aftertaste has been bitter. Supply chain disruption. Manufacturing shortage. Inflation. War. So on and so on … The one thing that has confounded me the most is where did everyone go? Workers of every level, every industry, every size, shape, and trade-disappeared. Because of this there seems to be a fear, a fear of upsetting the elusive employee. The employees know this. The decent ones are still decent, but a growing number of marginal ones know that their employer is desperate for people so they give the service they want with little or no fear of reprisal for shitty service. At first we were told, understandably, to be patient. That was two-years ago and I’m tired of it. I appreciate there isn’t a machine that “spits-out” capable workers. Crude analogy but more to the point, why is it acceptable that the consumer is expected to accept poor service but employers aren’t holding their people to a pre-pandemic customer service level?

I mentioned before the mental health challenges my oldest has been struggling with. The battle continues but there has been progress. Unfortunately that progress was the breakup with the girlfriend. Whatever the influence was, her arrival into his life was exactly when it started going sour, getting worse by the month, questioning every aspect of his life to the point he started seeking mental help. It has been a long-long time since I had a broken heart and it is painful to watch someone go through it, especially a loved one.

Investing. My mom (in-law) was getting ready to head back downstairs to her condo. We had finished dinner and our normal evenings worth of BritBox and she was getting ready to head downstairs. After taking off her headphones, she removed her bib, folding it and placed it on her tray she uses when having dinner. With her very soft voice she said she wanted to talk to us. I paused the TV and put the controller down. She began by telling us that her granddaughter’s husband had just invented a game based on Harry Potter. She continued saying the granddaughter talked to her about investing by buying stock in it. When quizzed about it she said Warner Bros. was involved and began talking about the recent hit movie Elvis. Confused, Lisa and I asked what a game based on Harry Potter had to do with a movie about Elvis. At this point she was getting frustrated and said she was thinking of investing $1,000 but needed to use the granddaughters broker to do it. Insert here the dialogue you would have with your elderly parent/ grandparent here, and it is probably similar to ours. Lisa called and talked to the granddaughter (her niece obviously) and discovered the reality of the conversation. The grandmother wants to invest in something and after hearing about this game her husband had created, she kept calling her about it. She (granddaughter) didn’t want anything to do with her investing in Warner Bros. and explained her husband’s 401K is with Warner’s and the investment amount needed to use her financial planner is $100K, not $1K. After explaining this and calming her down, we assured her we weren’t dismissing her desire to invest, we just wanted her to get all the facts before making a decision. We also told her we would seek knowledgeable assistance to help her. She felt better. Moral of the story-stay informed about your elders financial decisions because they are always vulnerable, and don’t be condescending when explaining your observation about it. You never know, they may be doing it for you. That was the motive here.