HOW TO

A DROP OF HONEY Ep2

‘If I had tried to get the rent reduced by the methods the other tenants

were using, I am positive I should have met with the same failure they encountered. It was the friendly, sympathetic, appreciative approach that

won.’

Dean Woodcock of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is the superintendent of a

department of the local electric company. His staff was called upon to repair

some equipment on top of a pole. This type of work had formerly been

performed by a different department and had only recently been transferred

to Woodcock’s section. Although his people had been trained in the work,

this was the first time they had ever actually been called upon to do it.

Everybody in the organisation was interested in seeing if and how they

could handle it. Mr. Woodcock, several of his subordinate managers, and

members of other departments of the utility went to see the operation. Many

cars and trucks were there, and a number of people were standing around

watching the two lone men on top of the pole.

Glancing around, Woodcock noticed a man up the street getting out of

his car with a camera. He began taking pictures of the scene. Utility people

are extremely conscious of public relations, and suddenly Woodcock

realised what this setup looked like to the man with the camera – overkill,

dozens of people being called out to do a two-person job. He strolled up the

street to the photographer.

‘I see you’re interested in our operation.’

‘Yes, and my mother will be more than interested. She owns stock in

your company. This will be an eye-opener for her. She may even decide her

investment was unwise. I’ve been telling her for years there’s a lot of waste

motion in companies like yours. This proves it. The newspapers might like

these pictures, too.’

‘It does look like it, doesn’t it? I’d think the same thing in your

position. But this is a unique situation . . . ‘ and Dean Woodcock went on to

explain how this was the first job of this type for his department and how

everybody from executives down was interested. He assured the man that

under normal conditions two people could handle the job. The photographer

put away his camera, shook Woodcock’s hand, and thanked him for taking

the time to explain the situation to him.

Dean Woodcock’s friendly approach saved his company much

embarrassment and bad publicity.

Another member of one of our classes, Gerald H. Winn of Littleton,

New Hampshire, reported how by using a friendly approach, he obtained a

very satisfactory settlement on a damage claim. ‘Early in the spring,’ he reported, ‘before the ground had thawed from

the winter freezing, there was an unusually heavy rainstorm and the water,

which normally would have run off to nearby ditches and storm drains

along the road, took a new course onto a building lot where I had just built a

new home.

‘Not being able to run off, the water pressure built up around the

foundation of the house. The water forced itself under the concrete

basement floor, causing it to explode, and the basement filled with water.

This ruined the furnace and the hot-water heater. The cost to repair this

damage was in excess of two thousand dollars. I had no insurance to cover

this type of damage.

‘However, I soon found out that the owner of the subdivision had

neglected to put in a storm drain near the house which could have prevented

this problem. I made an appointment to see him. During the twenty-five-

mile trip to his office, I carefully reviewed the situation and, remembering

the principles I learned in this course, I decided that showing my anger

would not serve any worthwhile purpose. When I arrived, I kept very calm

and started by talking about his recent vacation to the West Indies; then,

when I felt the timing was right, I mentioned the “little” problem of water

damage. He quickly agreed to do his share in helping to correct the

problem.

‘A few days later he called and said he would pay for the damage and

also put in a storm drain to prevent the same thing from happening in the

future.

‘Even though it was the fault of the owner of the subdivision, if I had

not begun in a friendly way, there would have been a great deal of difficulty

in getting him to agree to the total liability.’

Years ago, when I was a barefoot boy walking through the woods to a

country school out in northwest Missouri, I read a fable about the sun and

the wind. They quarrelled about which was the stronger, and the wind said,

‘I’ll prove I am. See the old man down there with a coat? I bet I can get his

coat off him quicker than you can.’

So the sun went behind a cloud, and the wind blew until it was almost

a tornado, but the harder it blew, the tighter the old man clutched his coat to

him.

Finally, the wind calmed down and gave up, and then the sun came out

from behind the clouds and smiled kindly on the old man. Presently, he mopped his brow and pulled off his coat. The sun then told the wind that

gentleness and friendliness were always stronger than fury and force.

The use of gentleness and friendliness is demonstrated day after day by

people who have learned that a drop of honey catches more flies than a

gallon of gall. F. Gale Connor of Lutherville, Maryland, proved this when

he had to take his four-month-old car to the service department of the car

dealer for the third time. He told our class: ‘It was apparent that talking to,

reasoning with or shouting at the service manager was not going to lead to a

satisfactory resolution of my problems.

‘I walked over to the showroom and asked to see the agency owner,

Mr. White. After a short wait, I was ushered into Mr. White’s office. I

introduced myself and explained to him that I had bought my car from his

dealership because of the recommendations of friends who had had

previous dealings with him. I was told that his prices were very competitive

and his service was outstanding. He smiled with satisfaction as he listened

to me. I then explained the problem I was having with the service

department. “I thought you might want to be aware of any situation that

might tarnish your fine reputation,” I added. He thanked me for calling this

to his attention and assured me that my problem would be taken care of.

Not only did he personally get involved, but he also lent me his car to use

while mine was being repaired.’

Aesop was a Greek slave who lived at the court of Croesus and spun

immortal fables six hundred years before Christ. Yet the truths he taught

about human nature are just as true in Boston and Birmingham now as they

were twenty-six centuries ago in Athens. The sun can make you take off

your coat more quickly than the wind; and kindliness, the friendly approach

and appreciation can make people change their minds more readily than all

the bluster and storming in the world.

Remember what Lincoln said: ‘A drop of honey catches more flies

than a gallon of gall.’