Being that I work in customer service, and by customer service I mean I bag people’s groceries, I obviously have to deal with the general public. I generally tend to believe people are inherently good but there are some days when I begin to question people’s motives.

Just the other day a customer decided I would be the victim of her wrath. She talked to me like I was an idiot, called me slow and incompetent (might I add she was telling me to bag then re-bag her groceries in different bags so of course it look some time to get her order over with), and proceeded to whisper to me how disrespectful I was and how my parents, “sure raised me right”. Now, we’re taught to keep smiling and be overly polite to people who are complaining so that’s what I did. Smiled and told her to have a fantastic rest of her night. She then walked up to the customer service counter and asked for help out. Being the only bagger–I mean customer service associate–on the front end, I was the only option. I started walking towards her smiling and she turns to my co-worker Patty and says, “No, I don’t want her. She is slow and doesn’t know what she’s doing.” Naturally, I stop in my tracks and let my jaw drop. Patty smiled and said, “Alex is the sweetest girl I know,” but the lady still refused then walked away.

After that whole debacle my other co-workers told me that when that particular lady comes in she always causes some kind of trouble and that I just need to ignore all the people like her. I got to thinking about the whole situation and mulled it over on my drive home. I tried to find something I did wrong to make someone say such terrible things to me but I couldn’t find any mistakes. I then started questioning how a person who didn’t even know me could say that my parents “sure raised me right.” That lady didn’t know a single thing about me other than the fact I was bagging her groceries, following her directions since they were so particular.

People don’t always think about what they say to others and that’s terribly cliche but it’s also the truth. Moreover, people don’t care about what they say to others and what kind of effect it’s going to have. That lady indubitably saw that what she said was getting to me and she kept going. I’m not sure I want to know how many times that happens to people who are just trying to get through their day like everyone else.

What really gets to me is the fact that people will go out of their way to make someone else have a bad day. Does it honestly feel good to know you made someone upset?

I’m going to challenge everyone to try to make someone’s day instead of destroy it. Hold the door open for someone and smile at them; say hello to someone you don’t know but make eye contact with all the time; look at the faces you see in the hallways and search for someone who doesn’t look happy and smile at them. And if you’re really feeling friendly, tell a customer service associate you appreciate what they’re doing for you.

Love and Nargles,

Alex