Don’t punish(ˈpəniSH) everyone(ˈevrēˌwən) for one person’s mistake

Don’t punish(ˈpəniSH) everyone(ˈevrēˌwən) for one person’s mistake

By Derek Sivers

The little diner near me has these big warning(ˈwôrniNG) signs(sīn) posted everywhere:

WE RESERVE(riˈzərv) THE RIGHT TO REFUSE SERVICE TO ANYONE FOR ANY REASON

ALL ORDERS ARE FINAL! ABSOLUTELY(ˌabsəˈlo͞otlē) NO REFUNDS(rēˈfənd,ˈrē-)!

NO SHOES(SHo͞o), NO SHIRT, NO SERVICE

NO CELLPHONES. NO PHOTOS. NO VIDEOS.

NO LOITERING(ˈloitər)! RESTROOM(-ˌro͝om,ˈrestˌro͞om) FOR CUSTOMERS ONLY!

ALL VIOLATORS(ˈvʌɪəleɪtə) WILL BE PROSECUTED(ˈpräsiˌkyo͞ot) TO THE FULLEST EXTENT(ikˈstent) OF THE LAW(lô)

Poor business owner needs a hug(həg). Every time someone upsets him, he punishes all his future customers forever.

When I was six, I attended a strict(strikt) little school in Abingdon, England. Early(ˈərlē) in the year, someone spilled(spil) grape(grāp) juice(jo͞os), so they banished(ˈbaniSH) grape juice for the rest of the year. Later, someone spilled orange(ˈär-,ˈôrənj) juice, so orange juice was banished for the rest of the year. Eventually(iˈvenCHo͞oəlē) we were allowed nothing but water.

Many years ago, one guy(gī) tried to light his shoes on fire on a plane. Now for all future time, millions of people a day have to queue(kyo͞o) up to take their shoes off at the airport, because of that one dumb(dəm) moment.

As a business owner, when you get screwed(skro͞od)-over by someone, it’s tempting(ˈtem(p)tiNG) to make a big grand policy(ˈpäləsē) you think will prevent you from ever getting screwed-over again.

One employee can’t focus, and spends his time surfing the web. Instead of just firing or reassigning(ˌrēəˈsīn) that person to more challenging work, the company installs an expensive content-approving firewall so that nobody can go to unapproved(ˌənəˈpro͞ovd) sites ever again.

It’s important to resist(riˈzist) that simplistic(simˈplistik), angry, reactionary(rēˈakSHəˌnerē) urge(ərj) to punish everyone, and step back to look at the big picture.

In the moment, you’re angry, and focusing only on that one awful(ˈôfəl) person who did you wrong. Your thinking is clouded. You start thinking everyone is awful, and the world is against you. This is the worst time to make a new policy.

When one customer wrongs you, remember the thousands that did not.

You’re lucky to own your own business. Life is good.

You can’t prevent(priˈvent) bad things from happening. Learn to shrug(SHrəg).

Resist the urge to punish everyone for one person’s mistake.

https://sivers.org/punish