After several years in & out of the retail industry, I tend to be a stickler for customer service! I find that when a clerk at a store is not very friendly, they are either having a bad day or ought to change their line of work! When I come across such a person, I try to have patience & use the old motto of "killing them with kindness," by offering a silly tidbit about life or just drawing them into conversation about something other than what they are doing right then & there. I don't know if they find this annoying or if it does take their minds off things for a time, but I know I like it when people do that for me!
Today was somewhat like that...I really hate to make returns, but in this economy I just can't justify holding onto things I didn't use or bought on impulse & really don't need. That was the case with my whopping $3 return at Michaels today.
Usually, I seem to get the clerk that is put off by my inane return & looks at it as a personal affront to their being. But today was very different. I walked into the store & was greeted cheerfully by the man behind the counter. He took my return without batting an eye & even made the comment that "every penny counts" when I joked at the silly amount of credit! (Of course I turned around & spent 3x that!)
But that's not really the reason I remember this his manner. It was more that he seemed genuinely interested in what I was working on. You see, among my paper supplies was a copy of "Artful Blogging" to help me spruce up my posts & get a handle on this crazy phenom! He immediately commented on the magazine & asked if I blogged. When I told him I had just started in an effort to get noticed & published, he stopped what he was doing, even though there was a line of customers waiting, & he took the time to write down the name of my blog & said that he would check it out!
That little act made me feel so very good! Whether he checks it out or not, it put this little lift in my step for the day with the thought that "if a total stranger can show interest just from seeing the items I purchased at his store & a brief conversation about my artwork, then maybe soon I will have more people reading my blog & be one step closer to my goal."
Today was somewhat like that...I really hate to make returns, but in this economy I just can't justify holding onto things I didn't use or bought on impulse & really don't need. That was the case with my whopping $3 return at Michaels today.
Usually, I seem to get the clerk that is put off by my inane return & looks at it as a personal affront to their being. But today was very different. I walked into the store & was greeted cheerfully by the man behind the counter. He took my return without batting an eye & even made the comment that "every penny counts" when I joked at the silly amount of credit! (Of course I turned around & spent 3x that!)
But that's not really the reason I remember this his manner. It was more that he seemed genuinely interested in what I was working on. You see, among my paper supplies was a copy of "Artful Blogging" to help me spruce up my posts & get a handle on this crazy phenom! He immediately commented on the magazine & asked if I blogged. When I told him I had just started in an effort to get noticed & published, he stopped what he was doing, even though there was a line of customers waiting, & he took the time to write down the name of my blog & said that he would check it out!
That little act made me feel so very good! Whether he checks it out or not, it put this little lift in my step for the day with the thought that "if a total stranger can show interest just from seeing the items I purchased at his store & a brief conversation about my artwork, then maybe soon I will have more people reading my blog & be one step closer to my goal."
So, when I am out & about next, I plan on taking a little card & treat to my new friend & telling him how he made me feel. I secretly hope that I catch him on one of those "bad" days & that my little thought can turn his day around!
"Today, give a stranger one of your smiles. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day." ~Quoted in P.S. I Love You, compiled by H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
2 comments:
Hi Becky! This is Bob (your friendly cashier!) I admire your ambition to be self-employed in a creative enterprise. The wonderful thing about scrapbooking,is that it honors our most important memories. It's about slowing down and remembering other people and thinking about what they really need! I certainly appreciate your gratitude--wouldn't it be nice if more people treated one another the way we have?
BRILLIANT, absolutely brilliant! and you SEE, there is mr. bob above posting on your blog - cheers to you bob for going the extra mile for amazing customer service and making an impression on my lovely BFF. cheers to you both! xoxo, rach
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