No Laughing Matter
Over a couple of weeks in September, the family in the syndicated cartoon Adam@Home pondered getting a dog. They looked up some breeds on the Internet, spent a couple of days on the merits of labradoodles, but ultimately decided they wanted to adopt a shelter dog. Yay! Good news, right?
Well here’s what happened when Laura Newman, the mother, walked into the shelter:
And the nastiness from the shelter worker got worse over the next couple of days …
Now ultimately Mrs. Baskerville – seemingly the Director – reprimanded the person at the counter, apologized to Laura, and an adoption took place. But of all the ways that dog adoption might have been portrayed in this popular column, this saga did not show us in our best light.
In my experience, comics are funny because there’s enough truth amidst the irony that we can laugh at ourselves. In this case, I’m afraid there’s plenty of truth, but I’m not laughing.
Related links:
“Forget Customer Service”
“I Was Them”
Dakin Humane Society: Progressive Adoptions That Serve Pets and People
Tags: Board & Leadership, customer service, Saving Lives
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Jessica Says:
While I do understand that you and the comic are trying to make a point but this just perpetuates the negative image. Instead how about some positive tips to improve customer service and marketing strategy for what is the business of saving lives? Mike Arms can do it and so can you!
Bert Troughton Says:
Good point, Jessica. Time for me to check what I’m modeling! thanks for the kick. Bert