Daily Mood Quote
Day 59 – July 2, 2011
It is very important to generate a good attitude, a good heart, as much as possible. From this, happiness in both the short term and the long term for both yourself and others will come.
~Dalai Lama
Yesterday, my husband went to the grocery store and while waiting in line at the customer service counter, a older woman came up behind him and with a frustrated tone she impatiently asked, “Does anyone work here?” My husband replied with enthusiasm, “Yes, and they're the best people you'll ever know.”
The store (national chain) we regularly shop is very down to earth, with friendly employees, a clean store and the shoppers are usually great people too. Across the street was a locally owned grocer, whose patrons were generally well-to-do. Unfortunately, I did not find the kind of customer service, friendly employees, friendly environment or nice shoppers there. Plus, their prices were ridiculously high. I quickly went back to what I liked in a grocery store. Several years ago, the national chain we shop at bought that local grocery chain.
Recently, the well-to-do grocery store was closed and all those patrons began shopping, and some employees began working, at the same grocery store I do. What a change!! It seems as if chaos and confusion took reign, as the hoard descended upon our happy little store. I would of never thought that the clash of cultures inside my own little suburb would be so dramatic. The employees of our store have to make due with the hours and resources they had before, in addition to handling nearly triple the customer load, while training the employees of the other store. To quote Charlie Brown, “Good grief!” You can almost taste the anxiety, hostility and stress in the air the minute you walked into the store. The shopping experience is no longer as enjoyable. My heart goes out to the employees of our store, because they continue to smile and do their jobs with the same professionalism, in-spite of the number of new grumpy, snooty, displeased customers yelling at them regularly. It seems as if the customers from across of the street are determined to be angry about the change and for the life of me I can't understand why. The selection is better, the aisles are wider, the store is far cleaner. Plus, the employees are top notch. What's not to like, change? It's ridiculous and a bit sad. Change happens.
If this little cultural change in my little town can be so difficult and dramatic, it makes me wonder how ignorant we are about global cultural differences and change? My guess is very ignorant.
Anyway, my husband and I are determined to continue to make our shopping experience a quality one. We refuse to let their misery (the grumpy snoots) rub off on us. Even if that means picking up knocked down products in the aisles and taking an alternate route around oblivious mad chatters, who block the lanes. I am reminded of The Hideous Zippleback as described by Gobber (Craig Ferguson) to Hiccup (Jay Baruchel) and Fishlegs (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) in the movie How to Train your Dragon. “Today is about teamwork! The Hideous Zippleback is extra tricky. One head breathes gas, the other head lights it. Your job is to know which is which!” The point is that if we generate “a good attitude”, maybe it will rub off on our new found shopping neighbors before there negativity has a chance to take root in our store and burn us all. I sure hope it does.
What “good attitude” will you pass along today?
Tune in tomorrow to read the daily mood quote
Thank you for reading
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