Just Words Wednesday -- Customer Service Please

Wednesday is the day I try to reserve for tangents. I know you are thinking isn't that all she does lately? I really didn't mean to complain about the car thing I just thought it was funny. But now I am going to vent for a minute and I hope you will bear with me because this story does have a good ending.

I grew up with a father who always expected good service. He has been in sales his whole life and understands the importance of positive customer service experiences. My Dad gives everybody the benefit of the doubt but if he gets lousy service he will easily stop shopping or eating at their establishment. Perhaps, just a little bit of these expectations have rubbed off on me. I really hate bad service. It makes me really grumpy.
If only people at stores and businesses understood the difference a few words make.
Today I was able to experience both ends of the customer service spectrum and it was astounding the difference it made in my mood. I have been having real issues with my pharmacy lately. I chose this pharmacy 11 years ago because their pharmacist was friendly and informative. I have remained mostly loyal. Their new techs this past year drive me crazy. They almost never smile, they verge on rudeness when they finally acknowledge that you have been standing there or waiting at their drive through for more than five minutes. They are often out of my subscription and they are generally unfriendly. This afternoon I was in one of those moods I can only describe as, if you had put a black pointy hat on my head I would have been easily recognizable as a common Halloween character.
An encounter with this pharmacy just put me over the edge. I drove off in a huff and for the next 30 minutes I felt as if I had a gremlin sitting on my chest. I was already tired and frustrated and I knew I had hours of running yet to do.
What happened next reminded me that a kind word goes a long way. I ran into Albertsons. As I stopped in front of the butcher counter to pick up the great deal on chicken I could barely think straight. That sweet woman at the butcher counter just looked at me as I wondered if they were going to tell me I was limited to one pound or something. I apologised for bothering her and she just looked at me and said "You can have anything you want, sweetheart. It's no problem." I just felt that gremlin jump off off my chest and runaway. She wrapped up all the chicken I wanted and wished me a wonderful afternoon and called me sweetheart again. I did not care that she called me sweetheart, I mean its not like I'm 20 anymore and I was clearly not being a sweetheart today so it just made me feel good. I told her exactly what I wanted and got it. She smiled, she acted happy to help me and not like I was interrupting her. I let out a big sigh and told her thank you for being so kind. I wish I knew that woman's name because she reminded me that good service or a kind word from anyone can change a person's day. It really does not take much effort to make people happy and to dissolve tension. As I checked out at the front I got even more sweet and thoughtful service. I kind of felt like I was in the good twilight zone. The rest of the day I treated my family better and I even yelled a little less at all the cars who cut me off on the way home. Way to go Albertson's girls. You made my day and you made me think about my own words and attitude of service.