A good friend, a colleague from the office, is in Singapore. I am supposed to follow her around, accompany her to the customer's site. Since it was supposed to be just a meeting, I decided to wear a suit. I have some. I like them and though I do not *have* to wear them, I do not mind doing so and will do it whenever I have the chance.
In other words, if I am not going to be crawling under tables as it happens now and them in my line of work, I will wear a suit. I look good in them and as sad and silly as it is, the fact is: people treat you differently when you are in a suit.
Some guys from the office do not like it very much. Perhaps because they are not used to wearing suits. The weather in Singapore is very hot. Or perhaps because they do not want to look better than the customer they are visiting. But my opinion is that you should look your best for your customer. I mean, if you are going to pay the big bucks for someone's service, wouldn't you expect that someone to look good?
I know it sounds silly, but bear with me for a minute. Let's say you are going to have a heart surgery. You are going to pay over $2000 dollars a day for some surgeon's service and pretty much put your life in his hands. You go visit her/him and she/he is dressed in sweat pants and a worn out T-Shirt. Do you get a good impression? I don't think so.
Sure I am exaggerating things for the sake a making a point but in a smaller scale this is basically the same situation I have on a daily basis. Customers do pay over US$2000 for my services. I could show up in jeans but, does that cause a good impression? Point made? Ok.
So this is what happened. My friend and I are going to meet the customer. It is a pre-sales engagement so I do not have to fix computers, go under desks or anything like that. She is nicely dressed and I am wearing a suit. At the customer site we meet the Sales Manager and he's not wearing a suit. My problem? No, I am sorry. The customer looks at me and goes "Oh, you look sharp today, huh?" and before I can say thanks he jumps into conversation saying:
- Yeah, he's Brazilian. I guess they do not have many chances to wear suits there.
Hey, hold on a moment! Where the f*ck did that come from? I got pissed instantly. I don't get paid to get this kind of crap. But I smile and pretend I did not mind the stupid comment...
Oh, the things we have to do to keep our jobs...
After that comment the customer lost the respect. Now the "guy in the suit" is "ok" and "it's ok to make fun of him". Gosh I HATE this.
I had to go to the toilet and the bloody office is one of those stupid buildings where everything is locked and the restrooms are outside the office area. I ask the customer:
- Can I borrow the pass to the toilet, please?
- Are you going to the toilet AGAIN?, she asks.
- What do you mean again? I just arrived!
- Yeah, but you went to the toilet yesterday, right?
- Oh, ha... Yes. Haha (pretending to find the joke extremely amusing. Duh!)
Then the Sales Manager asks:
- How often do you go to the toilet a day?
- Well, if you really have to know, I go once every half hour. Do you have a problem with that?
There was no reply. I guess he noticed I was getting aggressive already. Good. Maybe he will leave me alone for the rest of the day.
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