An Act of Kindness in the Business World
A small act of kindness by an employee in the business world can go a long way. In today's world we see many hard workers and many workers that seem just not to care. Stress, responsibilities and overload sometimes makes our jobs unbearable. But staying focused and helping your customers can go a long way to keeping customers and making you stand out as a valuable employee.
My husband and I went shopping for work shoes this morning. A task that is usually very heavy on our wallets. Being on a budget we spent about an hour in the store comparing brands and prices before deciding which shoe to choose. Once we were ready to pay, we headed for the checkout lane where we were met with a smile by "J".
"J" was very pleasant, asked us if we found everything okay, and asked us how our day was. Typical questions asked by cashiers trying to make small talk while you make your transaction. As he rang up our purchase he asked us if we had any coupons we would like to use today and we told him that unfortunately we didn't have any but wished we did since we could really use some savings today. He went ahead and told us he had a coupon that ended yesterday but he would have to get approval from his supervisor to use it today. When he called his supervisor over, she looked at him, squinted her eyes, and answered NO! My husband and I looked at each other amazed at her demeanor.
He then took it upon himself to tell us that we could ask the store manager for the discount. The manager would be able to override the date and give us our discount. We did precisely that, and with a big smile on his face said "Sure, not a problem". He went ahead and gave us a 25% off discount from our purchase.
We thanked "J" and the store manager for their attention and courtesy and let them know we were extremely happy with their way of treating customers and trying to make them happy. With the holiday season fast approaching, we will definitely make this one of our stores to shop at this year.
As my husband and I left the store, I decided that I would write the company to let them know how much I valued this employee for helping us. To them it was just a 25% discount, but to us, in these difficult economic times, it was a blessing we did not expect.
Two out of three employees went out of their way to make a customer happy while one couldn't even be bothered with us. I have written the company this young man works for and I hope he will receive the recognition he deserves. He went out of his way to help two people he did not know when he could of easily kept his mouth shut and been paid the same. The extra effort he displayed did much for us not only in getting my husband and I to talk about good acts in the work place but in inspiring me to start writing companies when I come across exceptional employees.
In summary, any small act of kindness does go a long way.
