The EduGeek on Tech: Using a Mac in a Windows Workplace

Brian the Education Geek writes an occasional blog with observations about life, geek stuff, politics, and just whatever strikes his fancy.

---

I work in an IT shop that fully supports both Microsoft Windows and Apple Mac OS. But like most IT houses, our enterprise software--as well as a good bit of the client applications we use--comes from Microsoft and was designed with Windows in mind. Apps like Microsoft Exchange, Sharepoint, Active Directory, SQL Server--you get the idea. So even though we support Macs at an end-user level, actually using a Mac inside of this decidedly Microsoft-centric has proven quite a challenge up to now.

But after many attempts over the years, I have finally achieved this goal. My 2-year-old Apple Macbook Pro is now my primary computer here at work, and I'm more productive than ever. I thought I'd briefly go over the mechanics and details of how I did it; if you're geeky enough, read on!

PROLOGUE--A MAC IN A WINDOWS WORLD? WHY NOT JUST USE A PC?

In the words of the great 20th-century philosopher Wile E. Coyote, a legitimate question. Deserving a legitimate answer. Simply put, Mac OSX just plain works better than Windows. That's been a hard thing for this PC guy to come to terms with, but I've used both Windows and OSX, on my own work computers and on probably hundreds of customer computers over the years. The past was one thing, but in this day and age, I must concede that OSX can multitask faster and better than Windows 7, with far less hard-drive activity to slow things down. Web pages render faster on the Mac than they do in Windows, regardless of the web browser. Programs load faster in OSX than they do in Windows, and in many cases they exit more gracefully as well (none of this force-quitting applications in Task Manager garbage!). OSX handles operating system updates more gracefully than does Windows (although Microsoft has made great strides in this area since the days of Windows XP), and BIOS/EPROM hardware updates on the Mac are streamlined right into the OSX update process (whereas PC users must manually download and install each hardware update separately). Last but not least, Apple OSX isn't subject to the spyware and malware that has plagued Windows users for years.

Speaking of hardware, Apple has made huge improvements to the design and quality of their computers over the last couple of years--to the point that most Macs are simply a better-quality computer than the typical PC that you'd find in the workplace. Macs now pack state-of-the art Intel processors, big hard drives and copious amounts of RAM memory. Apple video displays have superb illumination, contrast ratio and color representation, compared to their (generally) more mundane PC counterparts, and with most Mac desktop computer models, the video display is built right into the computer itself. Macs now use the same powerful computer-to-video adapters that PCs use, and they can run graphic-intensive applications like Photoshop with ease. Apple uses what are known as "Chicklet-style" keyboards, so-called because their keys are farther apart from each other than regular keyboards, making it harder to inadvertently hit two keys at once. And while PCs still use a mouse, Apple is rapidly replacing the mouse with a touchpad, where you move the cursor by moving your finger across the touchpad. Why? Because with a touchpad, you can employ multi-finger gestures to do things like zoom in and out, scroll the screen in any direction, and even switch between applications, things that a mere mouse can't do (at least not as easily).

In my book, though, the biggest advantage the Mac has over the PC has to do with how each platform behaves over time. Once you install OSX on a Mac, it will perform just as well two or three years down the road as it did the day you installed it; not so with Microsoft Windows. It's been my consistent experience that from the moment it's installed on a PC (even a high-end PC), Windows' performance degrades over time, as the user installs new software and updates the current software. Between the Windows software updates and service packs, the temporary files and DLL files that build up over time, and the buildup of system registry information, Windows literally slows down from its own weight, its own unsustainable code bloat. Until finally the computer's performance diminishes to only a fraction or what the computer itself is capable of. A Mac, on the other hand, gives you lasting performance throughout the life of the OSX installation, even if the user upgrades to newer, better versions of OSX during that time. Only if the user installs a very very high number of programs and utilities on the Mac, or if they make a habit of monkeying around with system files and Plists and other OSX nuts and bolts, will a Mac's performance degrade. (Which explains why my old MacPro G4 lasted me for years, in which time I went through numerous installations of Windows on my various PCs.)

The Mac vs. PC debate will probably go on forever. But like it or not, in the modern computer world, the reasons and benefits for using a Mac in the workplace are real. It's not like the old days, when the justification for using a Mac at work was  limited to bogus, intangible generalizations like "Macs handle graphics better" or "Macs are better for education". Today's users need fast, reliable productivity from their computers, and a Mac can give them that. Everyone has their own opinion about the aforementioned points above, and I can only say that again, I've drawn my own conclusions both from my computers and from customer computers (Mac and PC).

OK, I'M READY. I JUST NEED TO PLUG MY MAC INTO THE NETWORK AND AWAY I GO, RIGHT?

Well...not exactly. As stated earlier, a Mac is a pilgrim in a Windows world, in the professional realm at least. There aren't too many programs out there that have both a PC version and a Mac version. Why? Software developers have the monetary resources and the development cycles necessary to get their software working in Windows, but many don't have the additional resources that it takes to develop, maintain, and support their software in the OSX operating system. Either that, or they do have the resources but they just assume that there aren't enough Mac users out there to justify the expense. Same with web pages and web applications; most developers will certify them for Windows-compatible web browsers, but for other operating systems' browsers, it's No guarantees or warranties expressed or implied.

Network access and support software for enterprise systems are an issue as well. Much, if not most, of a company's work is created and stored on network resources, like servers and network-attached storage (NAS). Those resources have to be Mac-accessible in order for a Mac to be a viable computing tool. And if your job requires you to maintain enterprise systems like Active Directory or Microsoft Exchange Server, then you have to find Mac OSX software solutions for performing said maintenance. In most cases, the chances of finding such software are slim to none.

For what it's worth, here's how I addressed these and other issues.

ITEM 1: ACCESS TO A WINDOWS PC

If you're going to use a Mac in a Windows workplace, you're going to need constant, reliable access to a PC. Period. No matter how often or seldom you use a PC, eventually you're going to run into an application or web page that only works on a Windows machine. You may be saying, "If I need access to a PC, then what's the point of using a Mac at all?" The point is to use a Mac as your workhorse computer, leveraging the Mac's superior multitasking capabilities to do a much of your work as you can--using a PC only when absolutely necessary. There are three ways to access a PC from your Mac:

1. Use Bootcamp. Every Mac made within the last five years or so has the built-in ability to run Microsoft Windows, through a utility known as Bootcamp. Just run the Bootcamp utility in the Utilites folder on the Mac; it will ask a few questions about how you want Windows to be set up, then it will make a new partition on the Mac's hard drive. That partition will be where Windows is installed, and when you're done, the Mac will give you a choice of which operating system you want to use--Windows or Mac--every time you boot it up. (Note: Bootcamp requires that you have a licensed copy of whichever version of Windows you set up; I'd recommend Windows 7. Also, if you aren't that much of a PC person, you might want to get a more Windows-savvy person to help you with the installation. Bribe 'em with Starbucks if you have to!)

Voila! Insta Windows. Now you've probably already guessed the main drawback to this method: you choose the OS you want to use on bootup, which means that you either run Windows or Mac...but not both at the same time. If you need to use Windows more than once or twice a day, then having to reboot the Mac and boot into Windows each time is going to get real old.

2. Use a Windows virtualization program, like Parallels or VMWare Fusion. Virtualization programs work a lot like Bootcamp; you install the program in OSX, then the program installs Windows on your Mac. Except that you don't have to reboot the computer and choose which OS to run; you run Windows inside of the virtualization program. That way, you can use OSX all the time, and run the virtualization program only when you need to use Windows for something. You can even tell Parallels or VMWare Fusion that you want to use the Bootcamp Windows installation as the virtual Windows PC. How cool is that!

The only real downside to this method, apart from again needing to have a licensed copy of Windows, is that virtualization programs take lots of system resources on your Mac. Whichever program you use needs system memory and processor cycles to run itself, then more memory and processor cycles to run Windows. (Windows itself needs lots of system resources to run, which of course is what this blog article is all about.) This slows down the Mac; how slow it gets depends on how much RAM memory it has and how beefy the processor. Like I said earlier, my own MacBook Pro is a couple of years old and has 4 gigs of RAM, so I'd probably see some noticeable slowdown. Realistically, probably only a nicely-equipped MacPro or one of those brand-new MacBook Pro laptops (with the new Intel chip architecture known as "Sandy Bridge") could run a Windows virtual machine really well, with little or no performance loss. Fortunately, though, there's door number 3...

3. Connect to a PC remotely, using the Microsoft Remote Desktop Connection (RDC) program. For those using older Macs, or who don't want to sacrifice any system performance in exchange for using Windows, the best option may be to download the Microsoft Remote Connection Desktop (from www.mactopia.com). RDC lets you take over the operation of a PC right from your Mac; you can then use Windows on that PC as though you were actually sitting at the computer. That's how I roll in my office; I have an old Dell Optiplex 745 desktop computer that sits under my desk, and I connect to it form the MacBook Pro via RDC. Now the limitation for this method, obviously, is that you have to have a physical PC to connect to, and that PC has to be connected to the network. That can be a tall order in an office with limited computers and/or limited network resources. But if you can make it fly, you'll get the best of both worlds: Windows access without the performance pain.

Best of all, the computer you remote into doesn't even have to be all that beefy or all that new. My 745 is about 5 years old, yet it's more than fast enough to be a simple Windows terminal for my Mac. And keep in mind that you only need the computer itself, the "box" as it were. You don't need to connect a keyboard, mouse, or monitor to it; all the input/output takes place on your trusty Mac.

ITEM 2: A OFFICE PRODUCTIVITY SUITE THAT'S COMPATIBLE WITH WHAT THE REST OF THE OFFICE USES

Another thing you'll need to have on any Mac that you wish to use in a Windows office is an office productivity suite that's compatible with the suite that everyone else in the office uses. An office productivity suite is a set of programs used to perform common office tasks; it consists of:

--a word processor program for creating documents like memos, letters, and proposals, etc.

--a spreadsheet program for creating spreadsheet documents, like budgets, earnings forecasts, or even merely lists of information that you want to keep in a grid format.

--a contact management/personal information management program, for keeping information on the people you work with and for keeping track of appointments, meetings, etc. Many contact management programs double as e-mail programs, so you can read e-mails and keep track of the aforementioned information all in one place.

--a presentation program, for use in presenting information to others inside or outside the office. You use the program to put together the information you want to present, then you connect the computer to a presentation medium like a projector, and do the actual presentation.

Now, here's the rub: you have to be able to open the documents that your co-workers create using their office productivity suite, and they have to be able to open documents that you create. Nobody is an island unto themselves; everyone collaborates, and collaboration means that any user's computer can be used to open an other user's documents.

So if you're going to use a Mac, your OSX office productivity suite must be able to open the document files that your co-workers produce, and the documents you produce have to be usable and editable on other computers. I.e., Windows computers. Now, can't you just install an office productivity suite on your Windows PC--the one you obtained using one of the methods above--and use the PC for your memos, spreadsheets, etc.? Absolutely you can. But remember what we said earlier; the point of this exercise is to use the Mac's speed and multitasking abilities to chew through the majority of your work, and for most office workers, the majority of their work--or at least a good percentage of it--is done in their office productivity suite. If you can't even use the Mac for that, then it may not be worth it to use a Mac at all.

Now fortunately, the current standard for office productivity suites is Microsoft Office, and there's both a Windows and a Mac version of Office. In days past, documents saved in the Windows version of Office could not be reliably opened or edited using the Mac version, and vice versa. But with the latest iterations of Office for the Mac and PC respectively, compatibility between the two is virtually assured. That does mean, though, that especially on a Mac, it's critical to have the latest iteration of Office, Office 2011; using an earlier iteration of the program is not recommended. The only caveat here is that although the two versions of Office are compatible, the Windows version includes three programs that the Mac version doesn't: Microsoft Access, Publisher, and OneNote. (Access is used to create information databases, Publisher is used for desktop publishing, and OneNote is used for taking notes in meetings and such.) But again, no worries; if you need to use these programs, that's when you crank up your PC, right there inside OSX on your Mac, and away you go.

Not every business uses Microsoft Office; many are turning to online document creation solutions like Google Docs, OpenOffice, and Microsoft Office 365. But that's actually great news for whose who want to use a Mac in the workplace, since all of these alternatives are Mac-friendly (although Office 365 is still in its infancy, and only time will tell how Mac-compatible it will ultimately be, if at all).

ITEM 3: THE MOZILLA FIREFOX WEB BROWSER

Apple OSX ships with its own web browser, called Safari (just as Windows has its own web browser, Internet Explorer). Safari has come a long, long way from its decidedly humble beginnings, and most web pages load in Safari no problem. But some web pages don't work in Safari, and Murphy's law pretty much guarantees that one of these web pages will be the one that you have to go to. Regularly. So it's important to surf to www.firefox.com (yes, you can use Safari to do this) and download and install the latest version of the Mozilla Firefox web browser. Once installed, you use it just as you would Safari, typing the URL of whatever web page you want to view in the Address line. Firefox is the browser of choice for many (if not most) Windows users as well, so you'll be in good company.

ITEM 4: A MINI-DISPLAY-PORT-TO-VGA ADAPTER

Apple has had a nasty habit in the past, of suddenly throwing away support for the standard technology that everyone uses, in favor of brand-new technology that hasn't yet been adopted by the computer industry at large. They've mostly grown out of this practice, but one hurdle remains: external video connectivity. For purposes of connecting video monitors, projectors, interactive whiteboards, etc., the standard for years has been VGA (for both Mac and PC). VGA is an analog technology, and it was eventually supplanted (if not necessarily replaced) by DVI, a digital connectivity standard. Then a new video connectivity emerged, called DisplayPort. And while the rest of the industry has been slow to adopt DisplayPort, Apple has now forsaken all other external video display connectivity standards, and gone solely with DisplayPort. (The only exception to this is the MacPro tower models; seems like they still have a DVI connector).

So if you're going to use any Mac at the workplace outside of a MacPro, and if you wish to connect that Mac to a projector or to a non-Apple external monitor (or a whiteboard), you're going to need a mini-display-port-to-VGA adapter. You plug one end of the adapter into the Mac itself, and the other end into a VGA cable, which is plugged into the monitor/projector/whiteboard. Once this is done, you have external connectivity. You can get these adapters from www.apple.com or from computer supply stores.

ITEM 4: KNOWLEDGE OF MAC OSX, AND/OR PATIENCE WITH YOUR IT TECHS

Remember that old mantra that Apple used to use to tout their computers? Think Different. They even made all kinds of wall posters with the photos of people known for going against the grain, like Pablo Picasso, Albert Einstein, Alfred Hitchcock, and the like--each poster containing the words "Think Different." If you use a Mac in a Windows workplace, that's exactly what you're doing; you're using a different kind of computer from everyone else.

That means, among other things, that if something goes wrong and you have to call your IT person/people to work on your Mac, they may not be able to fix it as quickly or easily as they can fix a PC. And chances are,  as they're working on your Mac, they're thinking to themselves, "Why can't this user just use a PC like everyone else?" Be as patient with them as you can, and of course bribery with food or coffee can smooth things along!

It would also probably be worth your time to get to know Mac OSX. It's an easy operating system to learn how to use, but there are a lot of nuances and "gotchas" and general troubleshooting factoids to learn. Doing so will make you more comfortable with the system, and potentially more able to fix problems that come up. For example, anytime you get an error message or you see wonky behavior from a program, it's a good idea to repair the permissions in the files on your hard drive, using the Disk Utility (found in the Utilities folder, under Applications). Little tidbits of knowledge like that can go a long way toward self-sufficiency in the journey that you and your Mac share in the workplace. A few books you might want to check out:

Mac OSX Snow Leopard: The Missing Manual
http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Snow-Leopard-Missing/dp/0596153287/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301285437&sr=1-1

Mac OSX Snow Leopard Bible
http://www.amazon.com/Mac-OS-Snow-Leopard-Bible/dp/047045363X/ref=sr_1_6?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301285437&sr=1-6

Apple Training Series: Mac OS X Support Essentials v10.6: A Guide to Supporting and Troubleshooting Mac OS X v10.6 Snow Leopard

http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Training-Essentials-Supporting-Troubleshooting/dp/0321635345/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1301285437&sr=1-9

And of course, there's a myriad of Worldwide Web resources at your disposal as well; the best way to find them is probably to do a Google search on "Mac OSX resources" or something to that effect.

IN SUMMARY...


I've really only scratched the surface on the subject of using a Mac in a Windows world, and there are countless other observations I've made since December when I first started doing so, that I just don't have room to mention in this article. But if you have a Mac that's two years old or newer, if you're sick of all the spyware and code bloat and general drudgery that plagues Windows users, and if you don't mind learning a few things and putting forth a little effort, you too can enjoy the Mac experience in this Windows world.

The EduGeek at the Workplace: Who's in Customer Service? Everyone!

Brian the Education Geek writes an occasional blog with observations about life, geek stuff, politics, and just whatever strikes his fancy.

---

Ever go to one of those training seminars for work? The kind that they have at hotels and last like 2 or 3 days? I've only been to one, back in '94 or so, called—get this—How To Deliver Knock-Your-Socks-Off Customer Service. Had a cute little logo of a pair of feet with the socks flying off and everything. Aww.

I didn’t mind going, mind you; it got me out of the office for a couple of days, and they had the good taste not to have it at one of those horrid downtown hotels where you have to drive around for half an hour looking for a place to park. And for the most part, it was pretty much as expected, just a bunch of Powerpoint bullets on what customer service means and what you would do in this or that situation. There was one thing they said, though, that actually stuck with me:

Everyone is in customer service.

Meaning that whatever it says on a given employee's business card--accountant, IT manager, teacher, whatever--that employee is in customer service. That employee has a customer base, consisting of the others inside and outside of the company who depend on them, hence that employee is in customer service.

It sounded pretty hokey at first, but since then I've often thought of how much more efficiently a company or government entity could function if they would take on this philosophy.

Pretty much every company or organization out there has a customer service department of some kind. It might be a full-on call center, or it might be the desk receptionist in a small business, or it might be the outsourcing company in India or Bangladesh. Anyone who holds a position in that department is considered to be “in customer service,” whether its someone who takes the phone calls, someone who goes out and works with the customer to get the problem solved, whatever. These folks are in customer service to serve the company’s customer base, i.e. the people who pay the bills. The company probably has many other departments—billing, marketing, fulfillment, executive management—and conventional wisdom says that the people who work in those other departments are not in customer service, because they don’t have customers per se.

That’s conventional wisdom. Now lets look at the benefits of taking this broader view of customer service.

Lets pick a random department of a company as an example, say the accounting department. The lead accountant has the daunting task of balancing the books every month. Does this involve dealing directly with the company’s customer base? No. But there are a lot of people in the company who need the lead accountant in order to perform their jobs. The company’s executive management—the top brass, if you will—depends on the lead accountant for information on how much money is in the company’s budget, so that they know whether or not they can kick off that new project they’ve thinking about. The department heads of each of the company’s departments count on the lead accountant knowing how much money is in their budgets as well. If the company uses an auditing service to periodically audit the accounting department, then the auditors need the lead accountant for accurate, up-to-the-minute information on their accounting practices.

The point of all this? The executive management, the department heads, the auditors—these folks (among others) are the lead accountant’s customers. They’re the people who the lead accountant serves, and that’s what makes them the lead accountant’s customers. Therefore, the lead accountant is in customer service!

This may seem like an oversimplification, but it’s not. Practically all businesses with 20 or more employees companies have accountants (or at least accounting services), and all accountants have customers who they serve. Their job titles may differ from business to business, but they still depend on the accountant to do their job, and that makes them every bit as much a customer as the people who actually pay the company for their goods or services.

The same goes for the IT department. This is a much simpler example, because pretty much everyone in the company needs the IT department for something. Department heads need IT to develop computer systems for their information processing. The marketing/advertising department needs IT to maintain the web servers through which they advertise the company’s product or service. And of course everyone with a computer needs IT for computer maintenance and for tech support when things go wrong. All these folks are the IT department’s customers, and just like the company’s paying customers, if they don’t get the service that they need, they won’t be able to provide the company with the things that the company needs. If a paying customer doesn’t get the service they need, they take their business elsewhere, which deprives the company of the customer’s money. By the exact same token, if the IT department’s customers don’t get the service they need, they can’t do their job, which deprives the company of their effectiveness. (Example: it’s pretty hard to create that meeting agenda if your word processor isn’t working!) One of these scenarios is just as bad for the company as the other, but most companies seem to only recognize the first one, the loss of paying customers.

I could go on and on with examples, but the bottom line: everyone has a customer base, regardless of their role in the company. That customer base consists of the people in the company who need them to get their own jobs done. No matter how low on the totem pole an employee thinks they are, someone else needs them. Often.

You may be thinking to yourself, “Fine, Edugeek; so what? I probably won’t be able to singlehandedly get my company’s top brass to adopt the philosophy that everyone is in customer service, so how is all this relevant?” Well, it’s relevant in how each of us does our job—or more specifically, how each of us interacts with our own customer base. If we all adopt an attitude of performing good customer service, whoever the customer, then the idea that everyone is in customer service will take care of itself. Here are some pointers:

If someone contacts you, get back to them. If you get an e-mail message from someone, reply immediately. If you get a voice mail message, call them back. If the person is asking a question of you or they need something from you, reply to them right away and let them know that you either have what they need, or that it will take time to get them what they need. Try not to leave them hanging if you can possibly avoid it, because when someone asks something of you, it’s usually because there’s something they have to do or some information they need to provide—and it’s contingent on your answer. Oh, and if you’d prefer that people contact you via e-mail rather than by phone, let them know that. Make an outgoing message (OGM) on your phone that says something like “For faster response, please e-mail me at ____.”

If someone asks you a question, get the answer yourself. This sounds obvious, but it’s all too easy to reply to a question with “I don’t know, you’ll have to ask ____.” When you do that, you’re basically giving that person the runaround, in their own office! You expect for someone to get the runaround when they call a state or local government office or something, but it shouldn’t happen in their own office, among their own co-workers. If someone asks you something that you don’t know, say “I don’t know; let me find out and get back to you.” Then go ask the person who you think might know, get the answer from them, and relay it back to the original person. Yes, that’s a lot of work on your part, but what you’re really saying to them is, “Your quest for this answer ends here; you can count on me to get you the information.” Now the answer may be more involved than you can easily relay to the person, especially if its in an area that you don’t know much about; in cases like this, you can say “OK, I asked Jane and she said _____. But she could probably give you a more detailed answer.” Nothing wrong with this; you still did the leg work, and you reaffirmed to the person who asked that you can be counted on to get them what they need, in the form of an answer or at least a referral to someone who can better help them. That’s what they really want, after all, just like it’s what you want when you need information.

Don’t tell yourself stories about people. This applies more to people who are in the actual customer service department than it does people in other departments, but to some extent, it holds true everywhere. For example, if someone needs something from you, don’t say to yourself “What a lazyass, why can’t he do it himself?” Because what you’re doing is telling yourself a story about the person, in this case telling yourself that the person is lazy. But in most cases you have no idea whether or not the story is true; you’re mostly telling yourself that story just to reinforce to yourself why you shouldn’t have to do whatever it is they’re asking you to do. In this example, yes the person may just be lazy, but there are a lot of other possible explanations as well. Maybe they need this thing from you because their computer isn’t working at the moment. Maybe getting this thing requires a key, or a system access password, or some other resource that they don’t have. You don’t know, and as in life, there’s nothing to be gained by assuming the worst. Now if someone asks you for something over and over again, at that point its time to show them how to get whatever it is they need, or its time for you to get with their supervisor and let them know what’s going on, or however you want to handle it. But in general, give a brotha or a sistah a fair shake; they’re your customer after all!

Be liberal with praise and gratitude. This isn’t really anything that you didn’t learn in kindergarten, but thank people when they do something for you. Many people know to thank their friends and their family when they do something nice for them, but don’t know to carry this attitude over with them at the workplace. Similarly, when a co-worker realizes some kind of achievement, like getting a degree or certification, give ‘em props. Publicly. There’s a lot of negative energy floating around these days, so its important to be a source of positivity if you can.

Follow up. This is closely related to getting back to people, but it’s more of a long-term thing. Like whenever I take my car into the shop and they work on it, about a week later I get a follow-up e-mail message, asking how things are going since the work was done. That’s what a good customer service rep does, and it’s a good thing to integrate into your own behavior at work. If you provide an answer or if you’re otherwise a resource for someone, follow up with that person and make sure that what you did or what you gave them was really what they needed and that it really helped them. This is a particularly good idea if you answered a question for them or gave information, because it serves as a verification for you that your answer was really the correct one, or that your answer wasn’t correct and the correct answer is ___, or that your answer was correct but also could have included ___. That’s how you make yourself an effective resource for your customers, whoever they may be.

There are probably numerous other good habits that you can adopt that would give that good-customer-service quality to your work; feel free to name some of them them in the comments section. Your customers will thank you!