“Some People Think They Are Professional… Until The Pressure Gets High.”

Do we all have medical insurance and retirement accounts here? 401ks and IRAs? If you do, I hope you are proud of yourself and feel blessed, because there’s people who have certain jobs and cannot afford to have those things or do not have the means to attain those things. Having insurance and money aside puts you in a different class in life…but that doesn’t mean you always have class. You guys have a hint on where I'm going with this topic?

I told you I have a group of bar friends, yes? Some own bars, some are managers, some are bartenders, and some are servers. Most of them are student working through their undergrad or in graduate school to they work for some extra cash. I speak with them pretty frequently and they've gotten very comfortable with me to where they’ll confide in me about various things like their personal lives, work advice, and the things that they experience in the bar scene like people who are drunk and get out of line, but what really gets me is when they tell me about sober people who act a certain way towards them.

First let me say, I love my bar friends, they're good to me and they look out for me so when I hear about people mistreating them or giving them a hard time, that bothers me. So some of them were telling me about a person who comes in from time to time and orders Tito's vodka and salt. Now, first of all, this is a cocktail bar not a dive bar, order a crafted cocktail, that's what the bar is known for. That’s the first thing the bar friends pointed out and said that person is really out of their element. The next thing they mentioned was how the person speaks to the staff which isn't friendly or pleasant and that’s the most classless way to be. Like don’t be dismissive of people in the service industry, you are a horrible human being if you're like this. I don’t know who this person is, the bar friends didn't give me identifying details, but they don’t care for the person at all, and being as good as they are with customer service tactics they still do their best to accommodate this individual and I applaud them for that.

Professionalism isn't just for corporate America or people with office jobs. Professionalism is a part of all of our realities. And with class, you either got it or you don’t no matter who you are or what you do for a living. The bar friends told me about another person they they are no deeming and not a good person. Again they did not give me any identifying details, they just said that this particular individual seemed like a good and honorable person and they liked severing this individual. So, I don’t know what happened, but something occured the last time that person came to the bar to where the staff now will not interact with the person like how they used to. I don’t know if this person did something disrespectful or said something rude to one of the staff or displayed themself in a poor manner, I don’t know and I did not ask for any details that wasn’t volunteer to me. All I know is, the moment you step outside of your home, you are a representation of yourself, and not only what you believe yourself to be, but also who you want others to perceive you. And although many times professionalism relates to working environments, it also relates to how you conduct yourself outside of those environments. I talk about values all the time like what they are and how often to stick to them, but you should also consider your integrity and ethics. Are you maintaining good integrity and ethics and would people say that about you?

A few months ago, there was a judge in Georgia who was arrest outside of a nightclub for her conduct against police officers. At first people were giving their input stating that when you work in certain professions, you still need to carry yourself a certain way. But as more information came out, it was shared that the judge had been under review by the ethics committee due to some of her questionable case rulings. This brings about another point towards integrity and professionalism. No matter what you do for a living, you still have to abide by the expectation of your job duties, this may require more education or hands on training.

Let’s say for example, you work in the restaurant industry. And if someone you don’t like comes in and sits in your section, you as a “Professional” still need to display good customer service and not do anything to ruin their experience at the restaurant especially if that job is part of your livelihood. But if you are willing to risk it, then you may need to rethink your life choices. I have friends in the restaurant business to, it’s all still part of the service industry, and again they are owners, managers, or part of the staff and they share their horror stories of not only bad customers, but bad workers too who just really have not grasped the idea of being professional and knowledgeable of the expectations on and off the clock. You have to understand, even when you are not working, what you do can affect your job or career.

I’ve mentioned plenty of times that I’m not saint and nothing I’ve done is always perfect. So don’t think that I’m sitting on my pedal stool telling you how you should act. There’s been several times I’ve acted out of character, and you know what? The people who know me know that if and when I act out it was because I stayed dormant and held something in for too long. That doesn’t justify or excuse anything, but my loved ones know I maintain a certain demeanor and when I step outside that demeanor, they know something is wrong. Although, I am cognizant enough to know where to draw the line before it impacts my livelihood and if I’m not cognizant, then I’m around people who are cognizant because my circle of friends all have stable jobs or careers and have a lot to lose, so we will look out for each other.

Overall, no we should not be hindered or influenced by what people say or think of us. And I cannot speak for any of you, but I’d rather have people think and say good things about me which means, I need to showcase my better qualities to the world. Do you agree?

Be safe everyone.