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As I start writing this month, I am reeling from a bad day. No matter what I tried to accomplish on this day, it ended unfinished. I should probably share that in the past three weeks I had a hand surgery, my husband had a shoulder surgery and my father is not doing well as he ages. So a lot of stuff to deal with. And of course, that requires dealing with insurance and billing and records departments and on and on. So, my bad day was a day of hearing “can’t do” responses.

How did we become the society of can’t do? For so many years, decades even, the United States and especially small rural communities, worked hard to accomplish jobs and provide excellent customer service. Once upon a time we could call a customer service line and speak to a person who wanted to make sure our need was met before ending the call. I might be old enough now to long for those days.

A call to an out of state pharmacy was met with a reply that the only way to connect with the Pharmacist was to come in person. Hmmmm…. Not going to happen when I am nine hours away. They assured me there were no other options. A call to a local hospital ended with a service representative telling me that by asking for an itemized bill, which had already been paid in full, I was asking for an impossible task. And when I asked a local utility company what the balance was after my credit was applied, I was told to pay the current bill and any remaining credit would then show on my account within thirty days. At this point I needed to put my phone away and just stop. But it made me wonder what has happened to the work ethic in America and to the lost art of customer service.

As a social worker I daily helped people face end of life decisions. When a client called, I felt compelled to return their call before the end of day because I had learned that for many of my clients on hospice, this could be their last day. Whatever they needed help with, it most likely was important to them.

I recall a few unique needs I was able to answer with a can do attitude, including the day I brought a six month old Saint Bernard home with me to our farm. My husband wasn’t quite sure what to think, but I knew the woman who was on hospice and loved this sweet girl needed to know she was going to be ok. And my can do attitude brought peace to her as I met her need. Frannie stayed with us for about four months before being rehomed to a horse farm where a 10-year-old girl became Frannie’s best friend.

And then there was the man who was raised on a cattle farm and was fairly alone as he was dying. I asked him one day if I could do anything for him; what did he want? He just wanted to see some cows again. Well, that day I brought home a man who our farm could bring joy to. He smiled and relaxed, thanking my husband and I for sharing our cows with him. A little can do attitude can make a difference.

I wasn’t asking for the moon when calling for information. I was asking for a reasonable request to be met with an attitude of how can I help, versus, I don’t have time to help. So yes, we are all overwhelmed at some point in time. But isn’t that the time we need our customer service representatives to step up and do their jobs with a helpful and can do attitude? And should we really need to talk to supervisors for simple requests to be met?

For one night I turned my phone off and tried to not think about the information I needed to move forward with healthcare decisions and financial decisions and the information it takes in our new world to manage a home and life. Silence was amazing and refreshing. The next day I was ready to try again and move forward.

In the social service world, we see immense needs that there are not enough programs or budgets to meet. We see people alone and dying or who have indifferent family members confusing the situation. Seldom are social workers dealing with the affluent with strong family relations. At times the ability to meet the needs of all is compromised due to the overwhelming amount of humanity pouring into the office. And people are fallible.

Recently I have come to wonder, what would the world look like if we all assumed a can do attitude? What if we made the dream of an old man come alive by sharing our farm or by loving their canine companion? What if we stepped up instead of stepped out? What if we found a way to meet the need, even if we had to think outside the box? What if America once again had citizens who responded with a “can do” versus a “can’t do” attitude? How would our days and relationships look from that vantage point?

Chelle is a recovering social worker who currently works as a licensed massage therapist at Cherry Creek Myotherapy. She moved to Montana with her husband David and two pups, Lucas and Turner, where they seek “the quiet life” amid new adventures.