SWIMMING IN “ALPHABET SOUP”
If you haven’t noticed, we live in a society of letters…no, not snailmail…letters…like PhD, MBA, NCAA and a plethora of others. But, some letters are better than others and, in some cases, if we didn’t have the letters, we’d be doing a lot more writing or typing. But, the letters that distress me the most are NIMBY and NMP. NIMBY, if you don’t already know, stands for “Not in My Backyard.” A brand new big box store is welcome in the area, as long as it isn’t situated too close to YOUR home. YOU want a safe place for the homeless in our community to find shelter – but NIMBY. You get the picture?
So, what about NMP? NMP means Not My Problem. When you go to the drug store and the pharmacist tells you she is out of the medication your doctor just prescribed, you listen sympathetically but deep down inside, you want to scream, “Not My Problem! Just find me the darn lotion before I itch to death!” When the computer repair person explains why the appointment was missed – because one technician is on maternity leave and another is sick with the flu, you find yourself screaming (albeit inaudibly), “Not My Problem!”
What should these people be saying? It’s really simple. They offer solutions. The drug store is out of medication you need, but the pharmacist can order it and it’ll be here tomorrow…or you can drive five miles and get it at another drug store in the chain. The computer technician who’s working short-handed should give you his or her estimated time of arrival to take a look at your system. Who cares who’s out for what reason. But, any time a vendor of any type service makes an excuse before offering a solution, they deserve an irate customer shouting, “Not My Problem!”
Drat those letters!
Valerie
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