I have recently had the opportunity of dealing with a well-known media personality.
I am sure that we have all heard how certain celebrities are so completely different when the cameras are off. A cursory search on google can throw up any number of negative stories about people in the public eye, such as the TV presenter who never gave her builders anything to drink. ‘I don’t pay you lot to drink my tea’ she had allegedly said. I had been hoping that this individual would not be like that.
The early signs were good. I liked the fact that he was very approachable and straightforward to deal with, and that he came across exactly the same way as he does when he is on the television or radio.
However, my main observation was what he was like behind the scenes. During our preparation, he was so keen to recognise how vital everyone in the room was to the smooth running of the event. He involved everyone on the conversation, listened and reacted to what they had to say, put them at ease, made them laugh and made them feel important and recognised.
During the interview he was so keen to emphasise that when he works with people, everyone gets their fair share, and everyone is respected and appreciated. His pet hate was anyone being looked down upon. As I had actually witnessed his interactions with other people, his words had so much resonance.
It was one of those occasions where it was nice to reflect that decent, honest people who lead their lives using common sense and common courtesy can have great success in life.
A few months ago, I had a night out in London and in the middle of the evening took an Uber from one area to another. Being distracted by the high quality of the conversation and perhaps being slightly less sober than I had been earlier on, I managed to leave my phone in the car. For all the advantages of using an Uber, being able to easily contact a driver is not one of them. An unanswered call went through to a voicemail in Canada, and I feared that the phone was lost for good.
The following day I was contacted by Uber, was able to speak to the driver, and arranged to collect the phone in West London. When I met him, I had no recollection at all of who he was. To my shame, I realised that I had shown no interest whatever in him when he collected us and had momentarily become one of those people who was taking others for granted. Almost inevitably he turned out to be the perfect gentleman, who had put himself out to meet me and return the phone, and just wanted to do the right thing.
I was brought up to say ‘please’ and ‘thank you’ and would always make a point of saying ‘thank you’ to the driver when getting off a bus.
Comparing my casual obliviousness to the Uber driver with the way the media personality treated the other people in the room, who he would probably never meet again, made me embarrassed and gave cause to reflect on the old adage that ‘good manners cost nothing’. I certainly shall endeavour to be more considerate and appreciative of the people I encounter in the future.
