8 a.m. The sound of a doorbell enters into my head – huh? Am I dreaming? The household is sound asleep after staying up late to cheer on Bama vs. LSU. Plus it is Sunday morning of a long weekend. A treasured day to catch up on some sleep. Then a flurry of activity outside the house – a sound of multiple voices and then the sound of metal ladders being extended…what the heck is going on?!
Our gutters were cleaned yesterday morning. Yep, Sunday morning starting at 8 a.m. REALLY? Who in this company thought this was a good idea? When do gutters get cleaned by a hired service on a Sunday morning? For 20 minutes, men ran up and down our roof, right above our heads as we were trying to sleep; talking in normal everyday voices, going about their business like this was completely standard operating procedure. Unbelievable.
How does this happen? How do businesses rationalize that this is ok? Did the owner/president approve this idea that they could get more homes done this Fall by sneaking in a Sunday? Was 8am considered to be a reasonable time that their services would not be disturbing anybody? I am full of questions and disbelief that this company actually did this.
There are two main points that particularly strike me:
1. Sunday. We have lost Sundays to be a day of rest. What happened to going to church, visiting grandparents, and having a big Sunday dinner? That is how I grew up. Now Sunday has become just another day in the weekend to catch up, do errands, get to the grocery store, do laundry. Kids have birthday parties on Sundays. Kids sports are played on Sundays. We are an overscheduled society where Sunday is another day we need and use to conduct business. It started with malls being open, then banks started marketing their being open to conduct business on Sunday and now basic home services are jumping in too? What the heck! Do I need to specify when home services are retained that they are NOT to come on Sunday? When are we going to fight to get our Sundays back?
2. Common sense. Who in this gutter service company decided it was absolutely fine to clean our gutters yesterday morning at 8am? Who gave the green light and on what basis did they think it was fine? It is not OK on so many levels to deliver this service on a Sunday. And who rationalized that 8 a.m. seemed like a good idea?
Common sense goes a long way. 
This company does not appear to have any. Don’t over think what your business needs to do to be successful. Try some common sense and think like your customer. This will serve you and your business well.
As Voltaire rightly said, “Common sense is not so common”. Use it as a competitive differentiator! It may just be that simple.
Finally, the most amazing part of all of this? My 16-year-old son slept through all of the noise and commotion of the men running above his head. Never heard a thing. Wow.