ACCOUNTABILITY

~Unhappy Customer: “I didn’t, I won’t”

      A bookseller had a statement for a book curtly returned to him, with this note written across it:

      “Dear Sir: I never ordered this ugly book. If I did, you didn’t send it. If you sent it, I never got it. If I got it, I paid for it. If I didn’t, I won’t!”

~In Code, Gentlemen Punished Severely

      The most ancient law code known to historians, the Code of Hammurabi, king of Babylon (c. 1728-1686 B.C.), divided the population into three classes: “gentlemen,” “citizens,” and “slaves.” The gentlemen enjoyed special privileges, but they were also punished more severely for their offenses.

~If Age 40, Responsible For Face

      It is said that Abraham Lincoln, when he was President of the United States, was advised to include a certain man in his Cabinet. When he refused he was asked why he would not accept him.

      “I don’t like his face,” the President replied.

      “But the poor man isn’t responsible for his face,” responded his advocate.

      “Every man over forty is responsible for his face,” countered Abraham Lincoln.

—E.G.Manby

 ~J.C. Penney Keeps Golden Rule

      One of the many successful men who have used the Golden Rule principle was James Cash Penney. The fabulous Mr. Penney, starting with a small general merchandise store in Kemmerer, Wyoming, in 1902, built a multimillion-dollar business empire on one simple principle: the Golden Rule.

      For years the Penney stores were called The Golden Rule Stores. And it was Mr. Penney’s faith in that principle—always treating a customer as he himself would want to be treated—that made them grow and prosper.

~Direct Dial To Mayor Kollek

      One of the few mayors in the world to have his home number listed in the local telephone directory was Teddy Kollek of Jerusalem. Kollek decided to keep his phone number listed when he was first elected, and he has not regretted it. “It gives people a feeling of last resort—a number they can turn to when they can’t get through the bureaucracy,” he says.

      A young man who woke him one night, to complain of a pothole that caused his motor scooter to overturn, apologized: “If I don’t call you now when I’m angry, I know I won’t call tomorrow. And if I did, I wouldn’t get you in your office.” Kollek good-naturedly took down the location of the pothole and, the next morning, ordered the highway department to fix it.

—Jerusalem Post