Growing up in New England, one feels a certain obligation towards sarcasm and the greater tickle at the back of its throat we charitably call cynicism.  Maybe it's the harsh winters, maybe it's the baffling political machinery, maybe it's just what we do--whatever the impetus, there's a black, bitten humor particular to these parts.

I'm of the opinion that sarcasm and cynicism are like salt: a dash makes the dish; more than a handful renders the meal inedible.  Without belaboring my time on the soapbox, I'll note how happy I was to hear Conan O'Brien's closing thoughts from his last Tonight Show:

"All I ask of you is one thing: please don't be cynical. I hate cynicism -- it's my least favorite quality and it doesn't lead anywhere," he concluded. "Nobody in life gets exactly what they thought they were going to get. But if you work really hard and you're kind, amazing things will happen."

I think Conan's talking about the pitfalls of cynicism as a strategy, a lens through which we view and engage with our world, and to that end we at Catchlight endeavor towards what customer service maven Jeanne Bliss posits as the first of five decisions that set beloved companies apart: We decide to believe in our customers.  From her book I Love You More Than My Dog:

"Beloved companies...decide to believe.  They believe their employees and they believe their customers.  And they practice this by suspending cynicism.  By deciding to trust customers, they are freed from extra rules, policies, and layers of bureaucracy that create a barrier between them and their customers."

And in large part, we are able to put this decision into practice daily because of our men and women in the field.  We are privileged to send out Boston's best house painters, as kind as they are skilled, to be sure, but more still, as willing to listen to their customers as they are capable of acting on your wishes.

Nigel puts it very succinctly in this entry: we take credit for our hires, but our men and women deserve all manner of hosannas for their kindnesses in the field each and every day.