Have you ever walked into a business establishment and thought that you had just entered happy hour at a local bar?   Or perhaps you walked in and thought you were at a Sunday afternoon wedding shower filled with women chatting about anything and everything. This is how I have felt when I have visited various business establishments. In such places, I have found the employees focusing on everything other than the customer.

In almost every workshop or training session I have attended, it is almost inevitable that the word “professionalism” will crop up in the conversation. Human Resource professionals have harped for years on the importance of being professional on the job, but I have often wondered over the years if this objective could ever really be achieved in this country. Is it perhaps just some illusive dream employers wish that their employees will automatically adopt?

From the food store to the law firm, one commonality I have found among employed persons is that many do not harness their mouths in the presence of clients and customers. This was made patently clear the other day when I had occasion to go to a local government office. I was in that office for about 25 minutes and during that time I felt like a bug on the wall, totally invisible to the women in the office.

These individuals talked about a person who either worked there at one time or another and based on what they had to say, I don’t think they thought much of this person’s character. About five minutes into this conversation I became very uncomfortable and stood up thinking that would alert them that a client was in the office, even though they all saw me walk in.

This gesture on my part did nothing to stop the deluge of verbiage that flowed freely from mouth to mouth. What really struck me as totally odd is that the telephone rang and the woman who was serving me answered it and not one of the women who had then moved the conversation on to last night’s exercise class.

At this point I thought that they were truly visitors to this office space and not employees as I had first assumed; if only that were so. However, I was very grateful to the one employee who served me exceptionally well. She gave me her full attention and made me feel that she wanted to help me as best as she could; and she definitely did that.

So what is it about our people that make us think we are doing a favour when we serve the customer? Why do so many employees think that it is okay for them to have a conversation with another employee in front of a customer? I have witnessed this so often that I have come to believe many of our people just can’t help themselves.

It is so bad that in some instances I have to actually ask the individual serving me to please pay attention to what she is doing. This lack of attention from the cashier caused me to be charged $38.00 for an item that cost $3.80. Fortunately for me, the manager saw to it that I was reimbursed.

Sadly, for many Bahamians, the workplace has become their social place. It is somewhere to meet and greet others and not do what they are being paid to do.   And, to correct or reprimand an employee could very well lead you to the labour board.

This week I challenge you to actually go to work and do some work. Do not take tea break after tea break just to keep abreast of local gossip. Do not sit at your desk and chat the time away. Even though you may be moving your fingers across a key pad, you will not be giving 100% effort to the task at hand.

But, most of all, I urge you to please focus on your customers this week and not have them suffer through your office gossip and negative vibes between co-workers. I don’t care if you were totally exhausted from your work out last night. I do not want to hear that Mr. So and So is a real dog. And, I definitely do not want to know what you and your boyfriend did last night.