I Don't Know

I had babysat and worked odd jobs, but my first "real" job was at a local store in Nashville called Service Merchandise. Service Merchandise couldn't survive as the WalMarts and Targets and Amazon.coms of the world emerged. But, at the time, it was where local Nashvillians went to buy homegoods, small kitchen and home appliances, kitchenware, luggage, electronics and even jewelry. If you needed a watch battery, an alarm clock, or a new coffee pot, this is where you headed.

In addition to learning how to clock in and out, do time cards, check cash drawers in and out and count change back to customers, I was given another lesson that turned out to serve me, not just while I was an employee at that store, but throughout life. And when I run into today's youth who have obviously missed this lesson, it pains me for the up and coming generation.

We were instructed, should a customer have an inquiry that we didn't immediately have an answer, to do one of the following:

(1) Try to find the answer ourselves. If they have a question about an item in the store, read the tag or the box and try to figure it out together.
(2) If they have a question about the store (hours, return policy, where something is located), find the answer together. Don't point them somewhere when you can walk them over there.
(3) If all else fails, take the customer to another employee and stay with them until the question is answered. That way, you both will have the answer and you'll be prepared next time.

Too often, I ask a question of a store employee and am met with bewilderment, at best, or worse, complete and unaffected indifference. To my question, they'll answer "I dunno" or "Umm..." or, one of my peeves, "I think..." There's no confidence, no desire to serve the customer, and probably no ambition or desire to deliver stellar service. With so many options today, especially in retail, I would think management would make it a point to drive this into their staff to deliver top notch, grade A service all day, every day.

You are what you do. If you do boring, stupid, monotonous work, chances 
are you’ll end up boring, stupid, and monotonous.
  --Bob Black

The best thing in life is to go ahead with all your plans and your dreams, to embrace life and to live everyday with passion, to lose and still keep the faith and to win while being grateful. All of this because the world belongs to those who dare to go after what they want. And because life is really too short to be insignificant.  --Charlie Chaplin