PEA RIDGE — Sometimes I'm totally blown away by the attitudes I encounter in people. As a "not so nice" person in the 1960s, I encountered some pretty bad attitudes in those I ran with (and had myself) but, what young person doesn't? While it seems to be almost a rite of passage for young people to question the values of their parents and society in general, most grow up to be fine, upstanding, responsible citizens, returning, as did the prodigal son, to the solid values taught them by their parents and Sunday School teachers. I recently encountered an attitude that I realize is quickly becoming a part of our society.
We recently looked at replacing our pew Bibles that are getting pretty worn with new giant print versions. I began to research prices at several vendors and found a major supplier that gave us a price quote of $9.99 each, including shipping, if we ordered 10 or more. So I ordered 11 thinking that if they were what we wanted we could order more.
I placed the order on March 28 and was thrilled to get an e-mail from the company on March 30 telling me our order was "on it's way" and I was thrilled when I received the order on April 2.
The excitement didn't last long. When I opened the box, I found they had shipped us a different version than the one ordered.
I called the company and after verifying they indeed had shipped the wrong version they apologized and e-mailed me a UPS label so I could ship back the items at their cost. They told me that as soon as they received the return they would ship me what I had ordered. I said that would be fine. On the following Sunday I told the congregation there would be a delay, but the problem would be fixed.
On April 15, I received another e-mail telling me my order was on its way and I let the church know the following Sunday what I had learned, that our Bibles would be here within the week. On April 20 I received the order and was excited once again - until I openedthe box - and found they once again had shipped us a different version than the one ordered.
I called the company and told the customer service rep it appeared they had sent the wrong thing again.
The rep told me they had shipped me exactly what I had ordered. After giving the rep the SKU number on the Bible and comparing it with the SKU of the one I ordered, they apologized and told me they couldn't guarantee I would get what I had ordered. Huh? What? I was stunned! I asked the rep to issue another RMA label and I would ship them back and order them someplace else.
On April 30 I received another e-mail telling me they had generated a refund and I should receive it within three business days.
Although some say we have become service-orientated in our business model - the customer is always right - the attitude becoming more prominent is "you will take what I have to give you whether it's what you want or not and like it. If you don't want it, tough, it's the best you're gonna get." The sad thing is we often capitulate to this attitude, settling for less than what we need - often because we don't want to make a fuss - and when we do we end up feeling unsatisfied and cheated.
The sad thing is we often present this attitude toward the one who cares for us most - God. By our actions we often say to Him "God, I know what you want, but here is what I'm willing to give you and it's just going to have to be enough." Think of how we feel when we encounter this attitude and remember Hebrews 4:15: "For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin."
In other words, Jesus feels everything we do.
Church, Pages 2 on 09/30/2009