I will be returning to Texas tomorrow (Thursday the 20th) to reacquaint myself with my spousal-unit, pay some bills, and listen to the cats tell me how angry they are that I left them there without training someone to cater to their every whim while I was gone. This also means there may be a lull in blogs until I return on Monday, December 1st.
However, before I leave, I want to report on something GOOD that has occurred to me here. (Well, there are probably more things but my shopping experiences have been less-than-optimal.)
I went to the local Brookshire Brothers grocery store. (There is one on either side of town.) On a size basis, I would say you could put about four of one of them into one of the newer large HEB stores. Needless to say, selections are somewhat limited. They do, however, compete with the Wal-Mart grocery area by providing MUCH easier access as well as carrying a few items the Wal-Mart does not carry. I pop into the one on "our" side of town about once a week for a quick purchase.
Okay. Scene is set. So, I am wandering through the produce section (it's not that big, folks!) in search of fresh cranberries as my aunt wanted fresh cranberry sauce with today's lunch. I have cruised the aisle twice, checking again just in case I missed them. I do not see them. I do spot a very young female who is placing apples in place for sale. I note she is on a cell phone while doing so. She has on the signature green t-shirt and a name tag. Perhaps this is a very important call so I stand at a reasonable distance from her... close enough to make it clear I am waiting to ask her a question... far enough to only barely overhear her conversation (which was relative to her plans for later that evening and thus, in my world, not a very important call!). I am looking toward her. She continues to pick up two apples at a time, turn and place them on the bin, then repeat the process... all without ever looking at me even though I am in her direct line of vision. Uh-huh. I do feel the blood pressure beginning to rise and decide I will leave without cranberries.
About this time, a very young man shoves one of the stocking carts through the double swinging doors in the produce area. I catch his attention and advise I have a question but "the young lady in the produce area is apparently too busy on her cell phone to acknowledge me." (Yes... I am perturbed and the first available set of ears is going to know this.) He is very nice and asks me what I am seeking. I ask him where the fresh cranberries are to which he replies "We have canned cranberry sauce but we rarely get fresh cranberries here." Okay. I wanted to scream "It's Thanksgiving next week!!! When do you think you should get them?!?!?!?" but I don't. He is only the messenger and I try never to shoot them. Sigh.
I make my way forward to check out with the five items I have in my little cart. I am nearly done when the very young man comes RUNNING to the front of the store with a bag of fresh cranberries in his hand! He spots me, brings them to me, and says "Gosh. I'm sorry. I forgot it's nearly Thanksgiving!" Okay. This young man has completely redeemed himself and I gratefully acknowledge his efforts in asking about them, finding them, then tracking me down to make sure I get them. I could have been out of the store by then but he was going to try.
Note to self: Just when it seems as though there is no longer such a thing as true Customer Service, one little incident can prove that to be wrong. There are still a few folks left out there, some even young (!), who actually care about what they do AND how their customers are treated. Thank you, young man.
Until things change...
No comments:
Post a Comment