Be a nice human

BY TYRA MYSHRALL

I headed to Blue Mountain this weekend with my mother to enjoy the holiday lights and the crisp air of November.  I wanted to support the local businesses while I was there.

I got some great little gifts for the people that spread so much joy in my life. I was pulled out of my blissfulness when the lady serving me at one of the stores was rude.  I asked her to keep some items behind the counter and then added to my pile.  When it was time for me to cash out, she was speaking to the associate beside her, telling her how to ring in purchases that she had already started.

“Do you have the scarves and oils?” I said with a large grin, “And I also have a second bunch of items that I gave you.” I said this in one form or another three times. Finally, when she was about to charge me, I explained again that I have more items and the “other people’s stuff” that she had bagged was all mine.

I found myself getting frustrated but calmly agreed to two transactions as she had packaged everything up as two clients. I noticed how overwhelmed and stuck in her own head she was. How many times do we get so caught up in our internal voice that we stop to listen to the other person’s point of view?

Next, I went to a restaurant only to discover my reserved table had been given away. I waited and eventually got to go in out of the cold. “Wash your hands, scan this menu, and follow me” she said sharply as she darted off.  I was scrambling to get my phone out of my purse and scan the barcode while washing my hands and stumbling over my gloves. She sat me at the table and walked off.

I felt this anger brewing in me.  Why am I spending money when they are treating me like they don’t respect my business?  Service is an energy exchange, I pay for it, they provide it, and in return, they get paid for it. For any service, there are a multitude of other options, some more expensive, some less expensive but nonetheless, lots of options. I continued to go round and round as I bit into my pizza. Now the pizza was starting to suck too.

Finally, I stopped myself.  I was witnessing this unfolding from my own source of experience.  First, I have been in service and sales for many decades and I used to train people on how to provide outstanding service.  From this place I was observing all the ways that the associates were not providing the best service and I was angered for the owners of the business who would never know why I no longer wanted to come back.

But then, I realized I was witnessing these situations from a sense of self-absorption.  Who knows what is going on with those individuals?  They may have had a fight with their partner, they may not have had the correct training on how to deal with clients, and they may have just been overwhelmed with the clients of the day and worried about COVID.  There are so many things that are at play that I know nothing about and by me returning the bad energy that would only make it worse.

So, I felt the anger and I released it and smiled, enjoyed my pizza and my company, and went on my way.  I decided to be a nice human and look at the individuals serving me with compassion instead of a need to be right or self-absorbed with how their actions affected me.

This holiday season, please remember to be a nice human.  When you feel yourself wanting to react, take a minute, and breathe and imagine all that might be happening with the other person.