Variations on a Theme by Jeff Haden

What better motivation can one have?

I have been big fan of Jeff Haden's ever since I caught some of his published opinions on LinkedIn. I think this gifted author has the right mix of good sense, professional approach and human touch that makes any subject he addresses take on a new dimension. Put simply, I often relate with his point of view and it just makes sense.
I must admit that when I read the title of his post: 10 Ways to Lose Friends and Irritate People, I was more interested in mischief than self improvement. There was this awesome author telling me exactly what I need to do to prank my friends. It turned out to be nothing like that. Instead, I was stopping after each subtitle, amazed by the uncanny resemblance to an overwhelming majority of my compatriots.

Warning: This is where you would stop reading if you are the overzealous patriotic type who refuses any criticism and considers Lebanon to be the birthplace of all that is good in this world.

To fully understand my comments you would have to read the original article but here is a summary of the original 10 Ways to Lose Friends and Irritate people, along with my take on how sadly they apply to our society:

• You thoughtlessly waste other people's time
  The notion of time-value is non-existent in our society. People never respect an appointment, overstretch their stay, don't show up for meetings and often forget altogether that they were supposed to perform a task within a deadline. It's everywhere and people often rationalize this by useless sentences like: "Everybody does it" (where are you John Becker when we need you?)
    
• You ignore people outside your "level".
  Everybody measures everybody up before interacting with them. They check out the watch, the car (or keyhanger) the outfit and decide if they would give you the time of day. Even salespeople in less-than-select stores might choose to snub you if they think you cannot afford their merchandise. I won't even get started on the domestic foreign worker discrimination in Lebanon
    
• You ask for too much
  I can't help but remember this girl in an old job I held. She asked for help coz she was new and  helped her. Soon it was 9 month into her employment with us and she kept calling asking for help "because I'm new here". Family members also excel at this hear and abuse the blood ties beyond imagination.
    
• You ignore people in genuine needEverybody shows up at Sky Bar for that benefit party because it's a hip venue and the event has been publicized enough. It's a guilt free ride into partying yourself but what about keeping that person in the job he badly needs even if he is costing you more than a fresh grad (or a refugee which you would exploit)?
   
• You ask a question so you can talk
  The best way to show off your new mobile, car or real estate is to pretend to ask what's the best mobile to own, which car dealership has the best offer or how much is the meter of land being sold in an area. Shortly after that you will definitely be hearing a never ending slur of opinions and tidbits on how that person actually scored the best deal. The 3 topics will shift into girly things if the conversation is entirely female.
    
• You pull a "Do you know who I am?
  I am the son/daughter of commandant/colonel/general/deputy/minister/president...this ends up with even the police officer serving time instead of the person doing the infraction
   
• You don't dial it back
  Seriously, I don't need to know about how much your expat daughter makes, or how much you get asked out or how many job offers are you getting. Also, as Ziad Rahbani, our local music & theater genius puts it so well: I think you are the annoying person, not the hat that you are wearing.
   
• You mistake self-deprecation for permission
  This one's personal. I love self-deprecation jokes. "British Humour" is a soft spot for me. Try pulling off a self-deprecating joke in front of someone and you either end up with an arrogant look "oh my, how could he say this about himself, no one will respect him now" or, for the loose canons, this will end up with a barrage of Fozzie Bear waka waka jokes.
    
• You humblebragAs part of our oriental culture we are taught from early childhood that modesty (even fake) is a moral obligation. So humblebragging is not a new activity in our society. From parents talking about how their kids would be lost without them looking after their children, to the usual super-employee who is modest about her contribution to the company but without whom nothing would be done...we are covered in that area.
   
• You push your opinions
  Take a newspaper, any news paper or turn on any talk show whether political, social or artistic and all you can hear are people pushing their opinions and not bothering to hear what the other have to say. I know some of you might disagree with this but I really want to explain my point further because I am sure you will see it my way: now read this last sentence again. see? this is how it's done.
   

Having said my piece on that, I must admit that none of us is immune to these 10 pitfalls in human behavior, but also, none of us is entirely victim to them. I know many of my compatriots who show the same aversion to such behavior as I do.
However, there is a sense of clarity that comes with having detailed this, and understood that the major reason a person might feel alienated by the society they live in, is the fact that such a society adopts standards, which in that person's belief and value system, sound severely out of tune.

I am certain you can come up with an even longer list of good things that distinguish our culture, and I am confident I will agree with that list also; but the bottom line here lies in the delicate balance between what makes you happy in a place and what annoys you. So, no matter how the scale tips, be sure it's doing so for the right reasons!

The Full Story: RYMCO a Social Media Implosion & Redemption

RYMCO is the local dealership for Nissan, Infinity and an array of other brands in Lebanon.
They enjoy an overall positive reputation and have actively conquered a considerable market share due to various tactics and strategic choices, supported by an increasing popularity for the Nissan brand worldwide. Since its Alliance with Renault under the Leadership of French-Lebanese businessman Carlos Ghosn, Nissan has been a brand with vision.

Our story goes back to November 22nd , 2013. RYMCO had launched a massive campaign promoting the Juke a new crossover vehicle. While the car itself is not ugly and might be even labeled as cool by a younger audience, the TV commercial that was devised and aired (way too frequently) was, in my opinion, ill-thought for the following reasons.

• The ad portrayed reckless driving, even if it was confined inside an underground parking.
• The car doesn't really show in the ad due to fast motion footage
• The car's 4x4 capabilities are praised as the driver takes it on top of a very unchallenging, well laid out, nicely painted, gradually increasing in height barrels.
• Both drivers are over-acting with exaggerated facial expressions

You might not agree with my analysis but this was my view of the ad. It simply felt lame. This opinion was behind the unfortunate series of events that would follow.

You can watch the video here.

As I watched the ad on TV for the Nth time, opinionated as I am, I decided to express my discontent via Twitter by firing up a tweet where I tagged the company in the hope they would get more interested in why their ad seemed annoying to me (and perhaps to several others who shared my opinion).

While I initially thought they would simply ignore me, their community manager, replying at 1 AM, did not take lightly to me being critical of their (his?) ad. It didn't take long for things to spiral out of control into what felt to me like an episode of The Twilight Zone  applied to social media.

The initial exchange on Twitter
RYMCO later deleted their tweets

Their initial reply would have been professional and even disarming, for any critic, had they omitted the last part where they proudly announced: "Actually, we don't care about your opinion". The sheer arrogance behind the replies implied I was either communicating with an amateur or someone who had taken my comments on the ad too personally. This would cast a doubt on whether a seasoned community manager was answering vs someone more implicated in the making of the ad itself. But I speculate...

While I personally could have simply switched off, ignored the brand altogether (even if we were considering them for a car purchase plan) and went on to take my hard earned cash to a brand that would show a bit more respect, I felt that the public and consequently the RYMCO management needed to know about this.

I used the screenshots from above to post on Facebook the following statement.

  

Post by Patrick Chemali.

Public support quickly came pouring in especially from bloggers who immediately took over the story and reported on the lack of professionalism displayed by the person behind the RYMCO account. Top bloggers covered the story by dedicating extensive or shorter posts. I mention specifically:

• Beirut/NTSC
• A Separate State of Mind
• Plus961

Several others lent their support by re-tweeting or expression their dislike of how this was handled by the brand. A small minority of popular bloggers however preferred to lay low. While I was surprised by this knowing that they normally would post about anything from a leaf blowing in the wind to a major natural disaster, I understand they might not want to antagonize brands ahead of Freebie  Holiday Season.

What was most ironic was that the same arrogant replies went on through the next morning without any apologetic behavior. It was only around noon that the tone behind the twitter account of the brand changed: a clear sign of someone else taking over and trying to mend things. The offending tweets were deleted (in vain) and someone tried to get creative by trying to spin the incident into a planned setup or mounted stunt aimed at going viral. For a while RYMCO and supporting third parties tried to imply I was in on the stunt.
I WAS NOT! I switfly replied to all tweets suggesting such a thing with a solid denial. Eventually RYMCO started issuing corporate-like statements spread out into 4 tweets

It's been a bumpy ride for Rymco today. Whether staged or not, we would like to genuinely apologize from you @chemali and from all (1)

all followers for this misstep. We believe that brands grow through constructive criticism and feedback, whether concerning (2)

advertisements, products or services. All opinions are welcome. (3)

We would love to extend this apology to a phone call with you @chemali . We would greatly appreciate a DM with your contact details (4)

Although I was still offended they were not completely assuming responsibility by hinting to it "being staged or not", I chose to accept the stretched out olive branch and exchanged it with my 8-digit contact number. Ten minutes later, to my surprise, on the other end of the line was Mr Fayez Rasamny, RYMCO's own Chairman.  (RYMCO stands for "Rasamny Younis Motor Co.").

I will naturally not disclose the details of my conversation with Mr Rasamny. But what I can share is this:
We had a very open, sincere and friendly conversation. I have always had huge respect for leaders that step up and make things right when someone in their crew messes up. It's this attitude that can make or break a company. I am glad to see that whatever behavior I was subject to did not reflect RYMCO's corporate values.
Further to this phone call I tweeted once more confirming that things were resolved. After all credit needs to be given where credit is due.

In conclusion, a few words of advice: If you are a marketing manager, a communication manager or simply a person entrusted with a brand's social presence always be aware of the following:

1. When you engage people from the brand's account, there is no room for personal ego. You represent the brand and as such are liable to portray it as the brand has chosen itself to be positioned.
    
2. Social Media became a runaway hit because it allowed a two-way communication channel between brands and customers. If you are going to tell a fan/follower that you don't care about their opinion, whether directly or indirectly, you might as well close your social channels and go back to doing billboards.
    
3. "When you're in a hole...stop digging". If you have already messed up and you know it. Don't aggravate the situation by refusing to acknowledge your mistakes and pursuing down the same path. Sometimes fans are willing to give you a break, learn how to take it.
    
4. Apologizing is essential. It says a lot about your maturity as a brand. Taking ownership of one's mistakes is the first step towards fixing them. Do NOT wait until you have been cornered to apologize. It ends up sounding so much less sincere. Make your apologies as soon as you realize your mistake and make it count.
    
5. Criticism can be harsh, opinionated and perhaps even unfounded. Use the criticism to discover the angles that you may have missed. Accepting criticism and asking about why it came to happen is a sure way to address weaknesses in your business and improving them. Social Media offers a fast and efficient means to do it. Use it!

Finally, since, I am writing this post right in the middle of the End-of-Year Holidays, I wanted to close on a positive note with a beautifully conceived card by RYMCO which I gladly re-tweeted just recently.

https://twitter.com/chemali/status/416129066027462656