Hello? Hello!?

"You! Yes you! You need to help me now!"
"Certainly I'll do my best. What seems to be the problem ma'am?"
"I bought this item a few months ago and it doesn't work. I want a new one."
"Do you have the receipt for this? It'll make the return process much easier."
"No I don't. Can't you just give me a new one? I don't have time for this!"

http://lady-mango.deviantart.com/art/Dept-Store-boys-Angry-Customer-71366493

How many times have you heard a situation like this go on in front of you in a store? Or how many times have you had this type of situation happen to you? I've had it happen a few times myself, but I've always tried to be as courteous as possible.

I worked for a large retail store for 2 years and during those 2 years I experienced both the good and bad sides of customer service. I had some customers who were so nice and wonderful I couldn't help but love my job. But then there were days when no matter how nice you treated the customers they would come in with a major attitude and blame me or my co-workers for all their problems. Those days made me really despise working at my job. left that job 2 years ago and since then I still see customers treating retail employees with no respect.

 
However, I've also noticed that it's not just the customers lacking respect. The employees have now started to retaliate it seems they are giving attitudes back to the customers, even the ones that come in with no attitude at all. I'm not sure when it became the norm to come into work and begin treating all customers the same, no matter how mean or nice they are.

I thought I should highlight a few key points that will make whoever is reading this a better customer and a better worker (if you work in retail that is).

Customers:

1.) Understand that retail workers are people too!

2.) If you receive excellent service, give accolades to that individual.


3.) Make the experience easier by being prepared (receipts, currency, I.D.).


Workers:

1.) Try not to take things personally. Sometimes people have a bad day!

2.) Treat each customer with respect! It really does go a long way.

3.) Listen! They appreciate it more than you know!

I hope these short lists help you and make you re-think your response next time your in a long line at a customer service counter or if you just finished dealing with an irate customer, remember every person is different. I hope all of you have a great Friday!

Preview Into Tomorrow

Since I'm strapped for time I thought I'd let all of you know what tomorrow's blog is going to be about. I recently had an experience today that made me think a lot about what does it mean to have proper customer service etiquette?

I'll go into more details tomorrow, but until then feel free to leave your own experiences in the comments below, both good and bad. I hope all of you have a great day and I look forward to writing more to you tomorrow!

Brrrrrrrrr

 

Okay I'm officially over this winter! Wow I never thought I'd say that...lol. I'm actually the kind of person that loves the cold weather and the snow, just ask my family. Normally I can handle the cold better than most and don't mind driving in the snow and ice. But enough is enough already!

The main reason that I enjoy the cold weather is NO BUGS!! I hate anything that's creepy and crawly and especially during the spring and summer months they are everywhere! It really limits the amount of time I spend outside so when it snows and turns cold I don't have to worry about them bothering me.

A Bug's Life
these guys are the cute version!

 

My second reason for loving the cold weather is the HEAT that comes along with spring and summer. I can't stand how sweaty, sticky, and muggy it gets during this time. Even when you plug in an air conditioner you pretty much need to stand in front of it on full blast to get any kind of relief from the heat, at least that's what I do sometimes (admit it you've done it too).

Here in NYS we're supposed to be getting another storm next Monday into Tuesday and I'm not looking forward to more snow. I wouldn't be so down about the weather if we had a few breaks in between, but it just seems like the storms keep coming, one after another, after another. Here's hoping it'll warm up just a little bit and melt some of the snow; I'd like it to be 40-50 degrees!

Just Why?

Why? This question has been on my mind all day. Why do people who don't need or deserve someones help receive it? Why is it when a good, decent person needs help no one is there to help them? Or better yet why don't people feel inclined to help other people in today's society?

Take for example things that you see everyday. I've seen people cut each other off on streets, scream at each other when they don't get what they want at a store, pass by people that are broken down on the side of the road, and think that they are actually holier than God himself!

So what happened to the world? With so much negativity and selfishness running rampant I'm surprised there's still even a world at all. But, then again there are people in the world who are so selfless and care only about the well being of others. I like to believe that I'm the second one. Even though I have had my moment's of selfishness I still care more about the people around me than I do about myself.

I decided that maybe it's time people of the world started acting more like the second choice than the first. I came up with a short list that everyone could do that might just have a small impact on the way people react and act towards you. Check it out:

1.) SMILE! 
Always try to have a smile on your face. I was told by classmates that my smile was contagious in high school.

2.) STAY POSITIVE! 
Don't fret about the small things. Try to be as optimistic as possible.

3.) SHOW RESPECT! 
Don't do or say things to others that you wouldn't like done in return to you.

4.) BE NICE! 
When all else fails my mom told me "Kill 'em with kindness" (it always works).

I hope each and everyone of you have a great rest of the week and try to do at least one of the things on the list above. You never know just how much an act of kindness really means to someone until you go and do it!

Just One Of Those Days

I honestly thought that today was going to be a bad day. I mean I woke up from this crazy nightmare that involved zombie kittens. Yes, you read that correctly zombie kittens. I guess no more watching The Walking Dead and playing with the cats before bed...lol. But for some reason this day has been anything but that.

My house has managed to stay clean for most of the day, besides the cat toys here and there on the floor. My husband and I haven't argued or been angry with each other, so that's awesome (I love days like that)! I got to spend a little time with my mom and now I just found out that my brother got a new truck, so I'm really happy for him.

I know that by the time I post this blog it'll only be noon and there are still plenty more hours in the day that something could go wrong, but I'm not gonna think like that. I'm trying to be more positive and have a better outlook on life. I think I'm finally starting to realize that you have to take it a day at a time and understand that you can't control what's going to happen.

Basically what I'm trying to come across with is don't sweat the small stuff! You might have 10 things going on in your life right now that are stressing you out, but don't focus all your energy on those 10 things. Try to remember the little things in life that make those 10 things seem insignificant.

I hope you all have a blessed and stress free day!

I'm Back!

I decided it was time to come out of hiding! I had a lot going on in my life and I felt I needed to take a break from the blog and get myself together. So for my new post I thought it would be nice to share a positive quote with everyone, because in today's world we all need someone to be there for us, I know I have :-) Enjoy and thanks for sticking with me!

Maintenance Sucks!

Due to unforeseen technical problems beyond my control (basically the power company was playing around with the electric-over 1000 people had no power yesterday) my blog was delayed. But I'm back and I'm excited to share what I found out from Ancestry.com.

As I was digging through my mom's side of the family I discovered my poppy's father (great grandfather) had actually died of a cerebral hemorrhage. This information I had already know about because my grandfather had shared it with already. But what I discovered after this was crazy!

I found out that my great grandfather's mom (2x's great grandmother) had also died of a cerebral hemorrhage, but it didn't stop there. I was also able to find a death certificate for one of my great-grandfathers aunt's (2x's great grand aunt) that showed she too died of a cerebral hemorrhage.

So far I haven't been able to find anything else that links any other family member to 'death by cerebral hemorrhage, but then again I'm still finding my way around (when it comes to looking for records).

Below I'm going to share my 2x's great grand aunts death certificate and a photo of her, which I also found by digging a little deeper into the past.

PS: Sorry about having to make the death certificate so large it's the only way to see all the information. Also, my 2x's great grand aunt was married '4' times so her name was different at the time of her death (just to clarify).

My 2x's great grand aunt (Elizabeth Ward)