We're Out of That (Iceland)
I often think about "settling", the acceptance of something less than we want. A related issue arises in personal relationships, in the sale and purchase of services and goods. Thinking from the standpoint of both the provider and consumer of services, both sides of relationships, both the purchaser and seller of merchandise, how hard should we try? How much effort should we apply to turning good into great, how much effort should we expect in the service of the best as opposed to good. Should we continue to try to do our best even if it's not demanded or expected, even if we think we're doing "ok" as things are?
On our recent trip to Iceland, the issue arose very directly. We enjoyed the golf courses, the restaurants, the people- we enjoyed everything but the weather. But we constantly ran into the answer "we're out of that" when we tried to buy things. This happened with everything from favorite drinks to menu items to golf balls. I suppose it's natural in an island country, where everything has to be brought long distances by boat or plane, that from time to time merchants would run out of inventory. But a country that wants to increase its tourism might want to maintain a supply of the kinds of things tourists purchase.
Now it's not a "big deal", in the midst of such beauty and charm, to miss a favorite drink. But it is such small things that turn great to good, that make tourists calmly appreciate rather than rave, that make potential visitors stay at home happily looking at pictures rather than traveling. And it's not difficult to maintain an inventory of durable goods for visitors. What lessons can we learn, how does this help think about the issue of settling?
As I've urged before, we shouldn't let the great be the enemy of the good. If something's good, don't worry about how it could be better. Revel in the good, enjoy it for what it is and don't complain. And from the standpoint of the providers of the experience, the same lesson applies. Make your customers happy and you'll be happy enough. You may not get everything you want from them but the small additional satisfaction you could provide may require too much time and effort to make it worthwhile.
I think a more important lesson, though, is that the additional effort that may be required to satisfy our friends, our business associates, our customers is worth the trouble. If we do our best, we can be forgiven many deficiencies. If we visibly accept less than our best, we will be judged harshly. Even if the merchants in Iceland were completely satisfied with their offerings, we visitors, their intended customers, were not. We were somewhat, but not completely, satisfied. We found it odd, we found it mildly amusing when repeated, but it didn't give us a reason to return or recommend the country to our friends. They didn't do their best so they lost opportunities.
Continue to try to do your best. Don't be smug or self-satisfied. Even if you fail, you'll feel better about yourself for trying.
8-2-04
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