A Survival Guide to the Old Place (and Other Places)

Before we begin, realise that there is a fundamental difference between being a client and being a service provider. In the Old Place, or indeed in any other Place, it is quite likely that the service provider is more easily removed than the client.

This means that there is a delicate balance between service providers and clients. Ideally, the service provider should provide sufficient service such that the client doesn't feel stiffed. Similarly, the client should respect the service providers that provide sufficient service (or at least attempt to) and should be publicly annunciative (as opposed to denunciative) of both good and bad service providers.

There are a few problems, though.

It is clear that those who provide service providers have power over the service providers and do not necessarily provide useful services themselves, although they might delude themselves into thinking they do. Most times, they do, because they have made themselves useful. This is a good thing.

It is sometimes unclear as to who the real clients are. Are the clients the direct consumers of services, or the suppliers of direct consumers who hope that the direct consumers will be improved by consumption? If we were talking about a school, we'd be asking, "Are the students the clients, or their parents/guardians, or their states of origin, or the places which will benefit from their education?"

The worst problem really is that the definitions of what constitutes good service provision are not made as obvious in some institutions as they are in others. In some institutions, the clients are told things like, "If our [service provider designation] fails to carry out [service task designation], you should [perform client report function that notifies institution of service failure]." This is seldom true in educational circles, but catching on in healthcare circles and the civil service.

Currently, some service institutions are obliged to take in anyone who requests service (like hospitals) and some are allowed to pick and choose their clients (as in schools that are private or have occult recruiting practices or are allowed some discretion in student selection). This of course does not level the playing field. However, the intention was always to create an uneven playing field so as to concentrate resources appropriately according to market supply and demand. This in itself is not a problem until you stumble over the word 'appropriately' and wonder how this is determined.

The cure for enduring (if not solving) all such problems is to keep your head low and walk around vaguely smiling at everyone. This makes you look like a benign sort of tortoise, and like the tortoise, you are likely to have greater longevity. Remember to eat spicy noodles every morning, washed down with hot black coffee. This will boost your cognitive powers, sharpen your sense of danger, and make you realise that life is good even when the specifics fail.

At the same time, you should realise that you can't stay at the old place forever. We all move on, hopefully to better places. When you get to a new place, check out the noodles. If the food is bad, shake off the dust of your feet at their doorstep and keep moving. If the proprietor is shady, don't turn your back on him. But remember that life is often what you make of what you have been given; naked we came from our mothers' wombs, naked will we return to our peace, and so in all things give thanks to God.