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ASK AMY

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No, you shouldn't ask people how they finance their lifestyle, but you can ask friends and family for advice by saying, "We're really struggling trying to figure out how to finance this trip into debt-ville. Do you have any suggestions or strategies that you think we should research?"

Dear Amy:

Your response to "Tired of Rude Customers," the complaining waitress, was too sympathetic.

She complains that her customers do not understand her problems.

Whenever I hear that complaint, I recall my mother, who had been a telephone operator, repeating the phone company's constant reminder to its employees: "The customer is not interested in your problems."

Everyone who deals with the public should have that simple message chiseled in their brain. Customers have their own problems, and because they are paying the bill, their problems take precedence.

Henry in Maryland

I like your point, but the "polite" door swings both ways, right?

2006by the Chicago Tribune Distributed by Tribune Media Services Inc.

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