On Jan 20, 2010, at 9:42 AM, J. Moen wrote:
I'm not advocating talking to club members or government agencies,
or writing documents, that refer to them as customers. I'm talking
about an attitude, where you understand a customer is someone you
are serving and whose needs you need to understand. It is a way of
thinking that all service providers should have. The original post
was not to the government agencies, it was to a bunch of hams on an
email list, in other words, a service provider talking to other
service providers, not to their "customers."
I agree I would not put anything in writing with that word, but then
it wouldn't occur to me to do that. But I'm glad you brought it up,
since in this world of lawsuits, hams don't need that aggrevation.
Jim - K6JM
We shouldn't be servants either, maybe cooperating communicators? We
aren't "service providers" (that would be the commercial network
operators), we are volunteers who have valuable knowledge and
sometimes resources to contribute in an emergency.
People have a habit of trying to apply concepts from one venue to
another, e.g. the government should operate like my small business,
and this carries baggage with it and it builds certain images and
expectations in people's minds that might not be appropriate and could
lead to misunderstandings, even lawsuits -- we should state exactly
what we are and what we offer. We are not "free servants" to
agencies, we are amateur radio operators who provide volunteer
expertise and resources when and where we can, with no promises,
warranties, or guarantees. If we are organized well enough and
dependable, act professionally, and demonstrate our skills we will be
recognized for the service we provide as partners, but not as "service
providers".
John D. Hays
Amateur Radio Station K7VE
PO Box 1223
Edmonds, WA 98020-1223 VOIP/SIP: j...@hays.org
Email: j...@hays.org
