But doing the right thing has its own rewards.

By Herb Mast

This saying, which originated around 1937 (the original source has been attributed to many people including Oscar Wilde), seems ridiculous at first. Why would good deeds be punished? Oddly enough that is what often seems to happen when we try to do something good [for other people]. As a result of suffering harm while performing a good deed many people have become weary in their efforts, others have stopped trying, and yet others use it as an excuse for not trying in the first place.

Sounds like the car business, doesn’t it? Everyone has a story of going above and beyond for a customer and then getting burned on the satisfaction survey.

Personal Experience

I had such an experience recently with a car rental company. My late evening flight got me to my destination around midnight. After standing in line for about fifteen minutes, my car rental company, with whom I am a loyalty member and from whom I rented many cars in the past year, said they had my reservation but no cars. I stood there flabbergasted. For a brief second it reminded me of a Seinfeld episode where the same happens to Jerry and he points out to the agent that the whole idea of a “reservation” is that a car is held for us. Otherwise, what is the point of a reservation! The Seinfeld episode was humorous, but this late in the evening the humor was lost on me.

I voiced my displeasure to the agent but, since they had already given out all of their cars, the only option at this late hour was to go to the adjoining booth, who had cars, and who would said they would “honor my rate”. My agent gave the other agent a copy of my “reservation” details and left for the evening. I stood in line a second time, behind a few other frustrated ‘highly valued’ loyalty members who faced the same predicament. Everything was good until the new agent learned that my rental was for a one-way trip. Suddenly he could no longer match my rate. Meanwhile the other rental counters had closed or also run out of cars. Without better options at this late hour I took the car that was offered at a rate of $204.22 for the one-day one-way rental. My original rate would have been $48.18, plus $0.31/mile (I was going to drive about 275 miles).

The next day I contacted my rental company and brought the matter to their attention. To their credit they agreed to reimburse me for the difference between what I paid and what I should have paid. Anticipating a credit of approximately $70, I was surprised when I got an email that said they would be crediting $156.04 back to my VISA. I suspect that most people would have been happy with this result and rationalized the larger credit as “compensation for the hassle”. I could easily have done the same had they explained how they arrived at the amount of the credit, but they didn’t. Therein lies the dilemma. Was this a mistake or had they intentionally ignored the mileage charges to somehow compensate me for my inconvenience and to reinforce how important I was to them as a loyalty member after all? If it was a mistake, would somebody need to account for later? Does it matter? The error was in my favor so why should I care, right? Wrong! We should all care. If not for ethical or moral reasons, because it is the right thing to do, then for our own health and well being.

Morality and Biology

It is rare that people won’t fight for what they feel is due them. But when the shoe is on the other foot most people will pocket the windfall and rationalize the result. Shouldn’t we be willing to fight as hard for what is right and not just for what benefits us? Isn’t that an ethic that underpins a healthy society?

Intuitively and instinctively we know the difference between right and wrong. And ultimately we all need closure. In fact it is biological. Right and wrong registers the strongest with our Limbic brain – that part of our brain that is responsible for emotions and is three times more influential in directing our behaviors than the Neocortex, which is responsible for rational thought. The Neocortex may help us analyze data and rationalize our behaviors but the Limbic brain feels the consequential effects of our decisions and behaviors. In simple terms doing ‘wrong’ adds clutter to normal brain functioning. Doing right avoids the clutter. Hence, doing wrong, or even perceiving that we got away with something we did not deserve, binds up our brain and inhibits it from operating optimally.

Punishment

So I called my rental company to enquire. This is where the punishment of my good deed occurs. It can be incredibly difficult to give money back. In our current society people don’t expect it and can be somewhat suspicious when we try. It was incredible how many hoops I had to jump through and the number of times I had to call in my attempt to get this “resolved”. Each time I called I got a different person and had to convey the story all over again. On a couple occasions I tried in vain to speak with a supervisor. In the end they adjusted the credit, but ironically they increased it instead of lowering it. The final credit was increased to $164.04?? No doubt another error since nobody I talked to could explain why.

Release

Even though it took a fair amount of time what I got from my efforts, aside from a larger credit, was:

• An agent from the Rental Company acknowledged that while the final credit may be too high that is how they were going to leave it.
• Peace of mind. I did my part. My limbic brain was released from any sense of guilt that would otherwise add clutter and inhibit proper thought process in future. This point is what most people don’t get when they are rationalizing a false win. We can’t run or hide from our emotions. All we do is build up clutter, like sludge, in our brains, clouding our judgment, and inhibiting proper thought in future. We are hard wired a certain way and a clear conscience allows better brain functioning.
• I brought the situation to the rental company’s attention. The ball was put in their court. The choice of dealing with it further, or not, is now theirs. If they want to do something with it, like to change a process, they have a case they can refer to for insights.

Blessing

I am responsible for things I do, or that are in my control. I am not responsible for things out of my control, or what others do.

So the next time that you think about the hassle and punishment you might get for doing good for others, like disgruntled customers, remember that the person who gets the biggest reward for the good deed is you. You get intrinsic benefits, a blessing (an ancient concept that is not well understood in our modern society) – a good feeling for just doing the right thing, which still drives more positive behavior and produces more fulfillment than money ever will.

Further, and a little secret you need to be aware of if you do business with people, doing good without an ulterior motive, and with no expectation of getting something in return, actually builds long term customer loyalty and advocacy.

Unspoken communication

Even though our Limbic brain does not control speech (speech is controlled by our Neocortex) it certainly has an incredible way of communicating both positive and negative emotions with other Limbic brains in ways we will never understand. So, the next time you feel punished for doing good consider the long-term positive impact of your actions and stay the course.

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Herb Mast is President of COHESION, inc. and is passionate about inspiring Car Dealers to achieve greater growth and business sustainability.  Everything he does as an Executive Coach, Consultant, Author,  Keynote Speaker, and Workshop Presenter is focused on “filling gaps and connecting dots” of automotive leaders and managers to increase their effectiveness in the areas of leadership, teamwork, employee and customer care, and organizational health. Additional insights and practical solutions are available on Herb’s blog at www.HealthyDEALER.com. © Herb Mast 2015