Pride

[Razorfish]

Typical conversation I have with customers at work:

Customer: Do you carry this brand? I don't see any on the shelves.

Me: No sir we do not carry that brand.

Customer: I think you should check, I've seen it here before.

Me: Sir, that brand is made by a rival company, we have never carried their products.

(repeat lines 4 and 5 with customer progressivley getting louder as if I am not really hearing him/her)

Customer: LET ME TALK TO YOUR MANAGER! I'M GOING TO HAVE YOU fired/disiplined/re-assisinged/given a clue.

This conversation and others like it happen quite often. It gets me thinking that biggest problem with people, bar none, is too much pride. No one will admit their wrong, even if their proven wrong in a undisputable and friendly manner. In a situation like the example above I have noticed that offering alternatives solutions yields the customer simply repeating himself/herself, as if he's waiting for me to break down and say:

"Your right, I'm wrong, we have a secret stash in the back for people who challenge the sales staff."

Its not just retail people that deal with this either. Im sure we have all seen people fight irrational claims to the bitter end. Hell, I've even done it myself. Getting into arguements and later wondering what on earth I was trying to prove.

This happens frequently in relationships too. I have seen several intelligent, level-headed people go through relationship after relationship not realizing that their ability to let go of pride and compromise is what's causing all of the problems. Suffice to say, the one dissatisfying thing in all their relationships is themselves.

I have always believed that one of the keys to cultural enlightenment is to let go of pride, examine ourselves, and admit that we a wrong. At the rate we are all going, it looks like an impossibility (especially here in the United States).

Any thoughts or comments? I consider myself pretty self-aware of my faults but a debate might prove otherwise.