The San Francisco Chronicle story today on Crusade Against the Jerk at Work has provoked a delightful — and sometimes troubling — deluge of emails from a lot of people who have been victimized by assholes and a few who plead guilty to being assholes. One of my favorites came from a wine importer who explained how they deal with demeaning customers:
"In my business, we have a rule that says that a customer can either be an arsehole (I’m English originally) or a late pay, but not both. We have reduced stress considerably by excluding some customers on this basis."
The book talks about how one of cost of being a jerk is that customers start charging "asshole taxes" that the bully or brute may not even realize are happening. This is a great example.
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