It didn't hit me until the fourth time I received a call asking that I add Ingersoll Rand to the Herald & Review's list of selected stocks. The first call I took and said I would look into it. The next three were messages left on my voice mail making the same request, with the last call showing great disgust with my lack of action.

His disgust got my immediate attention, and immediate steps were taken to resolve the issue.

This is when it hit me. The last call came in on the same day I found myself cursing, once again, a local employer for its lack of response to a question I posed to them more than a month before.

Ouch. That realization hurt.

I could provide a long list of excuses for why I didn't respond in a more efficient manner, but they would be just that, excuses.

The bottom line is I didn't make the customer's request a priority after telling him during our initial phone call that I would look into it. And since I had nothing to add since our initial conversation, I didn't feel compelled to return his subsequent calls with an update on my lack of action. I have resolved not to let that happen again.

I'm thankful this caller gave me multiple attempts to resolve the issue. Still, I can only wonder how many gave me one chance, and I blew it.