I’m sure each of us had encountered some situations where we had to deal with some “not so bright” individuals. Such times are usually testing moments and we would just want to get over with the whole situation as soon as possible so that we can move on unless if we have no choice but to deal with these “not so bright” individuals on a repetitive or ongoing basis. Each time I get myself into such excruciatingly painful situations, I still try to be nice to the other party but an incident today had me blow my top (both literally and figuratively)!
While I would usually head back to the same hair salon for my haircut, I somehow decided to step into a different shop this afternoon. I don’t really know what got into my mind but I figured out that there’s no harm for it’s nothing more than a haircut and since I’m not going for some fancy schmancy curls or latest hairdo, it’ll hardly make a difference. Well, I was proven wrong!
From the moment that “not so bright” stylist (whom I would from now on refer to as “cutter” since calling him a stylist would be an insult to the many other “real stylists” out there) started cutting, I sensed something was not quite right. Firstly, he seemed a bit jittery with the pair of scissors he was holding and secondly, he kept asking me if I wanted my hair to be shorter every 15 seconds. (You never hear an Indian barber asking that question and they would confidently proceed until when you tell them otherwise.) Whilst my guts told me that I should just stop and walk off, I thought he was one of the “nice” guys who wanted to make sure I left a satisfied customer in the hope that I would be returning. Hence, I ignored my guts and let him proceed.
After the cutting part was done, he took out the razor to shave the sides and when I requested it to be shaved a bit shorter, he then took out a pair of electronic clippers and that was when disaster struck. The cutter somehow clipped off one chunk (the size of a 20 cents coin) just above my ears. I was stunned and looked straight into his eyes through the mirror but he coolly mentioned that he can fix it. Well, I again made a dumb call when I agreed instead of stepping out and that was when the 2nd disaster struck. Mr cutter’s definition of repairing it was to clip off 2 additional lines!
I immediately got up and was on my way storming out with my new “Vanilla Ice” lines when Mr Cutter apologized; saying that he’s not good with a razor or clipper. Those explanation raised my blood levels to a new high for it’s almost equivalent to a cab driver saying he doesn’t know how to drive a manual car after crashing with a passenger in it or William Hung mentioning that “he’s not received any professional training and as such can’t sing or dance” but yet wanted to give a shot at being an American Idol. Well, at least Willian Hung is excused for he was just trying out at an audition but this cutter was running a business and he had the balls to state he was not good at what he was charging his customers for. I wonder if I can get away with that excuse when I screw up something basic at work the next time around. By the way, the cutter also reminded me that I had to pay up before I stepped out and apart from some profanities, I did mention to him that I should be the one asking for a compensation!
To cut the cutter and hair cut story short, I have my hair partially salvaged at the regular salon I go to but that too was after the stylist had a ball of a time laughing at me and reminding me why I should always go back to him. Now that I’m sporting my new “Vanilla Ice” lines with a patch in between one of those lines, I guess I now understand why some people have very little patience for “not so bright” individuals.
Personally, I would have no issues with the “not so bright” individuals and I would still continue being patient and nice to these folks who are probably trying to achieve something in their very own way. For those of you who are not already doing so, it’s probably good to give it a shot the next time such encounters happen. Afterall, a good deed goes a long way.
However, I do have a big problem with the “not so bright” dimwits who claim to be good at something they are absolutely terrible with. It’s almost equivalent to me claiming that I am a great chef who can cook up a Boeuf Bourguignon or Gratin Dauphinois when the actual fact is I can’t even tell what is what! I always wonder why people would claim that they are good at something when that is far from the truth. The truth would eventually be revealed to their embarrassment and hopefully, these dimwits would realize that nothing goes undetected for long. There’s a famous Malay proverb that goes “sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga” which literally translates to “even squirrels who’s good at climbing and jumping from one tree to another would eventually come to ground”.
Now that my anger had subsided a wee bit, it’s probably best to end this with the moral of the story which is to never claim to be good at something we are not familiar with. Admitting unfamiliarity from the beginning garners higher forgiveness and others might even offer to coach us to be better. In contrary, if it were to be discovered by others after us claiming to be supposedly good at it, chances of being termed a dimwit would be extremely high. I for one would have little patience for such dimwits such as the one who literally and figuratively blew my top off.
For the time being, I guess I should settle with getting used to the new Vanilla Ice lines – at least that would have to be the case for the next 1 to 2 weeks before I return for further salvation at non other than my regular stylist.
While I would usually head back to the same hair salon for my haircut, I somehow decided to step into a different shop this afternoon. I don’t really know what got into my mind but I figured out that there’s no harm for it’s nothing more than a haircut and since I’m not going for some fancy schmancy curls or latest hairdo, it’ll hardly make a difference. Well, I was proven wrong!
From the moment that “not so bright” stylist (whom I would from now on refer to as “cutter” since calling him a stylist would be an insult to the many other “real stylists” out there) started cutting, I sensed something was not quite right. Firstly, he seemed a bit jittery with the pair of scissors he was holding and secondly, he kept asking me if I wanted my hair to be shorter every 15 seconds. (You never hear an Indian barber asking that question and they would confidently proceed until when you tell them otherwise.) Whilst my guts told me that I should just stop and walk off, I thought he was one of the “nice” guys who wanted to make sure I left a satisfied customer in the hope that I would be returning. Hence, I ignored my guts and let him proceed.
After the cutting part was done, he took out the razor to shave the sides and when I requested it to be shaved a bit shorter, he then took out a pair of electronic clippers and that was when disaster struck. The cutter somehow clipped off one chunk (the size of a 20 cents coin) just above my ears. I was stunned and looked straight into his eyes through the mirror but he coolly mentioned that he can fix it. Well, I again made a dumb call when I agreed instead of stepping out and that was when the 2nd disaster struck. Mr cutter’s definition of repairing it was to clip off 2 additional lines!
I immediately got up and was on my way storming out with my new “Vanilla Ice” lines when Mr Cutter apologized; saying that he’s not good with a razor or clipper. Those explanation raised my blood levels to a new high for it’s almost equivalent to a cab driver saying he doesn’t know how to drive a manual car after crashing with a passenger in it or William Hung mentioning that “he’s not received any professional training and as such can’t sing or dance” but yet wanted to give a shot at being an American Idol. Well, at least Willian Hung is excused for he was just trying out at an audition but this cutter was running a business and he had the balls to state he was not good at what he was charging his customers for. I wonder if I can get away with that excuse when I screw up something basic at work the next time around. By the way, the cutter also reminded me that I had to pay up before I stepped out and apart from some profanities, I did mention to him that I should be the one asking for a compensation!
To cut the cutter and hair cut story short, I have my hair partially salvaged at the regular salon I go to but that too was after the stylist had a ball of a time laughing at me and reminding me why I should always go back to him. Now that I’m sporting my new “Vanilla Ice” lines with a patch in between one of those lines, I guess I now understand why some people have very little patience for “not so bright” individuals.
Personally, I would have no issues with the “not so bright” individuals and I would still continue being patient and nice to these folks who are probably trying to achieve something in their very own way. For those of you who are not already doing so, it’s probably good to give it a shot the next time such encounters happen. Afterall, a good deed goes a long way.
However, I do have a big problem with the “not so bright” dimwits who claim to be good at something they are absolutely terrible with. It’s almost equivalent to me claiming that I am a great chef who can cook up a Boeuf Bourguignon or Gratin Dauphinois when the actual fact is I can’t even tell what is what! I always wonder why people would claim that they are good at something when that is far from the truth. The truth would eventually be revealed to their embarrassment and hopefully, these dimwits would realize that nothing goes undetected for long. There’s a famous Malay proverb that goes “sepandai-pandai tupai melompat, akhirnya jatuh ke tanah juga” which literally translates to “even squirrels who’s good at climbing and jumping from one tree to another would eventually come to ground”.
Now that my anger had subsided a wee bit, it’s probably best to end this with the moral of the story which is to never claim to be good at something we are not familiar with. Admitting unfamiliarity from the beginning garners higher forgiveness and others might even offer to coach us to be better. In contrary, if it were to be discovered by others after us claiming to be supposedly good at it, chances of being termed a dimwit would be extremely high. I for one would have little patience for such dimwits such as the one who literally and figuratively blew my top off.
For the time being, I guess I should settle with getting used to the new Vanilla Ice lines – at least that would have to be the case for the next 1 to 2 weeks before I return for further salvation at non other than my regular stylist.
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