Nice Works

Today was one of the busiest days of the year. When I started off for the mall, the traffic was thick. People waited and followed when someone took their purchases to their cars and then asked if they were leaving and could they use the spot. It seems a rather odd way of finding a parking place, but it apparently works. In the store it could have been madness but I noticed that most shoppers had that Christmas spirit and made humour out of tight situations where aisles were filled and shopping carts were suffering traffic jams. I also noticed that other people were in a great hurry and impatient and angry looking. And those around them had unpleasant expressions. At that moment, I decided to try to be especially neighbourly and it worked. It doesn't take much effort to greet someone or let them pass by or say excuse me or the famous Canadian word, "sorry" apologetically. I saw that those who found a moment to smile or begin a conversation with someone if they had a wait, made everyone around them smile, too. I ran into a very trying situation when I got home and the cable company who offered a special deal handed me from one to another to yet another person over my account. When I got to the fourth person, she had evidently been harassed previously, and her first terse words using "maam" in a overly business-like way, showed that a little  TLC was in order if I wanted to get anywhere. I used her name when I spoke with her. That's the first step in good feelings. She sounded as though her day was not good. I wanted to pursue my account  situation peaceably to its end and when she said she would have to hand me on to another helper, I could have become most annoyed but instead, I thanked her for her patience and said that would be fine, Rachel. She seemed surprised and told me that she wanted to help me but there were so many aspects to finding the answer to my question, that she could not, herself, give me the information, but she would find someone who could and would I hold for a moment. Rather than complaining, I said, I appreciate that and yes, I will hold. What's a few minutes? Events ran much more smoothly from then on in spite of the half-hour session. At the end of the entire business, I learned something about the services her company offered and also how to manoeuver in the site. I was rewarded with my patience by a couple of freebies at the conclusion. She and I exchanged seasonal greetings and when I hung up, I felt like a satisfied customer. Being nice, paid off. Literally. It's that small extra word in a friendly way, or being understanding of how difficult some clerical jobs are, that gets you not only better service, but also makes the individual who serves you, feel better. Being nice is catching.