I now understand the importance of holding. No, I'm not talking about two lovers caressing each other tightly in front of a fireplace (although that is also certainly important, fireplace or not). I'm talking about being put on hold when doing business over the phone. I recently took my automobile in to be serviced at my local garage. After they had it for a day, I called to get the prognosis and see just how much this was going to cost me. I was transferred over to the mechanic working on my car, and by transferred; I mean that the first person I reached yelled at the top of her lungs for a second person to pick up line 2. It was endearing, in a way, but not terribly professional.

After reaching the mechanic, I was told to wait for a moment while he checked on the status of my car. He then put the phone down (or let it hang, for all I know) and went to get the paperwork. It took him quite a while to get the information he needed, so I was sitting at my desk at work with my ear to the receiver, listening to other mechanics talk about everything under the sun. I certainly don't mind that, but the profanity I was hearing didn't really instill any confidence in me that I had chosen the right garage for my vehicle.

These guys could have made a sailor blush, as the saying goes. Eventually, the mechanic came back and told me the amount of the bill and what they had found.

I picked my car up that evening. The four or five minutes I spent listening to the other mechanics curse with reckless abandon got me to thinking. I really do believe that ignorance is bliss. It's not that I'm such a prude that a few expletives will offend me, it's more about professionalism. When a person feels that the company he or she is doing business with exudes professionalism, it makes one comfortable in doing business. When the situation is otherwise, it makes you wonder if there isn't someone else you should be doing business with instead.

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