The Exit Interview

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

We generally associate an exit interview with a change of job; and a good thing it is, too.

But exit interviews take place whenever two humans part company. They occur for me on a regular basis every time I leave The Montreal Deli ; the waitresses bid me to return soon, and by that I know that I’m tipping them way too much.

My neighbor just had an exit interview with Jenny Craig; it did not go well. She went in to tell them she was going to wing it, thank you very much, after 3 months at $600/month for the JC food menu.

Quite right, too. You want to lose weight? Decide that you want to; tell someone you are going to do it, then eat smaller portions of better foods (i.e. non-packaged food). Take the stairs from time to time just for the hell of it.

Jenny Craig of course is not in the business of helping people lose weight; not at all. They are in the business of selling cheap food in cheap packages expensively. When someone quits The Program, JC’s revenue stream takes a hit.

My neighbor reports that her consultant was quite negative, “You’ll not lose any more weight once you leave us”. This is true, actually; anyone who has lost weight will tell you that it’s quite easy to lose weight at about a pound a week for the first three months; after that shedding a pound can take up to a month or more. Of course, you can’t go on losing weight at a pound a week for 200 weeks, can you?

The whole interview was sordid, to hear it told.

What a missed opportunity for JC, to wish my neighbor well, thank her for taking part in The program, smile, and “Here’s my card, don’t hesitate to get in touch, for any reason, at any time …”.

Instead my neighbor won’t recommend JC to anyone.

The same must hold true when someone decides that they don’t require my services, or that that they don’t require my services any more.

My job is to smile, say “Please don’t hesitate”, and put a positive spin on the whole thing.

• My door is always open for you.

• I’m always sitting by the phone.

• Waiting for your call.

• Love to hear from you.

• Anytime.

Talk to Me !

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