Help Me! It's your Job!

I'll admit it, I did not read Jason's last entry, but he did tell me it was about good customer service and I know it's not original to write about the same subjects, but I really can't help it this time. Going into a store and getting rude, impatient employees attempting to service you is the worst. I worked in retail for many years and one of my favorite things about it was helping the customers. I never felt fake about it and it always felt good to find what they were looking for. And it was a relatively easy job to perform. So now when I get bad service in this terrible economy, where you should be happy to have a job at all, I get furious at them. Just put a smile on and help me, it would take ten seconds of your time. There are the rude customers you get every so often that helping them just feels dirty, but you suck it up and help them regardless.

Now getting back to the positive, when I receive really nice overall treatment at a retail store I leave in a great mood. I remember the faces of those for helped me, hoping they will again help me when I return. I had that kind of friendly, helpful service at Wegmans today. It's the busiest time to go the grocery store, since Thanksgiving's in two days, so it was packed. But regardless the employees there helped me along the way. I'd never done a big grocery trip there before so I was a little hesitant going in knowing how insane it was going to be. The customers were a little pushy and rude (I call people rude when they aren't friendly, it's the southerner in me.). There was a Wegmans employee down almost every aisle who was happy to answer any of my questions. They were very approachable and funny. They really run a great customer service regiment there.

The best part happened when I was leaving, I did not have a member card yet, so I approached the self-checkout lady and asked her advise. She said "Why don't I swipe a member card for you at the self-checkout aisle here and start ringing and bagging you items while you go get a card at customer service. That was a tremendous gesture from her. When I came back with my card, she had already rung and bagged half my groceries. I didn't have to wait in any long lines, except when I hit traffic at the 5 o'clock rush time.

It doesn't take much to please me, just a friendly smile and a little assistance goes a long way.

Being Friendly

I like it when people are nice and friendly to one another and I enjoy being nice and friendly to others. This is what I love and miss about the South; people wave at their neighbors, they have small talk in line at the grocery store, they hold doors open for each other. I've noticed a couple times that I've done these type of deeds here (Baltimore) and the person is so astonished that they thank me up and down. Having that kind of reaction to something so easy seems a bit disconcerting...stay positive Kate. I have started making a conscious effort to be more openly friendly to people. It's easy and makes you and them feel good. I've noticed that every time someone is kind to me in a profound way, I run and tell Jason. I guess I get astonished, too. We are all human, we hopefully all have families of our own, in some way or another we can all relate to each other. Let's continue to build those relationships with one another. We don't all have the funds to donate to charities, so the least we can do is be kind and friendly with everyone. A smile or wave goes a long way. Good night ya'll!