“He sweetens sour customers,” said a big business man of one of his employees in explaining why he liked him. “We can afford to take good care of him because he takes good care of us. He is a sort of ambassador who represents the firm to its customers. We know that we can’t sell the goods personally, or see all the customers, and it is very important that whoever does this should come as near as possible to representing us, our ideals and our methods. We put a very high value on the man who can sweeten sour customers.”
The salesman in question had the happy faculty of making everybody he served feel good, or taking the kinks out of cranky people and making them laugh when, in other hands, they would complain and talk about the house. He would tell some funny story and get them laughing, or relate a curious incident regarding some other customer that would deeply interest them, and then when he had secured their good will and established a sense of fellowship, he could do almost anything with them.
He made a specialty of sour customers and actually enjoyed dealing with them, because he could take the grouchiest, sourest, most cantankerous customers and in a little while sweeten them and so impregnate them with his own good nature, that they would go away satisfied and feeling good toward the house.
The man who can sweeten customers is a pretty valuable asset, and the firm can certainly afford to take care of him. He is in demand everywhere; there is an advertisement for him up at the door of every progressive enterprise in this country.
There’s a whole volume in that expression. “He sweetens sour customers.” It means not only that he can win over the cranky cantankerous customers, but also that he never antagonizes anybody. He doesn’t antagonize even the “shoppers,” the people who never buy, but are only out for curiosity looking around for new things. No matter whether he’s cleaning streets or directing railroads, the man who doesn’t antagonize anybody, no matter how mean they are to him, is the man who is wanted.
A happy disposition is worth more to its possessor than all the gold mines in the world. If you haven’t come into the world with one, try to acquire it. Whatever happens, just make up your mind that you are going to be cheerful; that you will not add to the gloom and unhappiness already in the world by going about with a long, gloomy face, but will scatter laughter and sunshine wherever you go. You can’t make a better resolve than that you will keep sweet all through the year. When things go wrong, keep sweet. When they go right, keep sweet. When people denounce and abuse you, keep sweet, keep pleasant. No matter what happens. In this way you will do more good than any multimillionaire could do with all his money. You will be happy yourself, and you will make others happy. You will treble your chances of success and popularity, for every one loves and admires the cheerful, sunny soul. All doors fly open to him, because wherever he goes, “he sweetens sour customers.”
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