It occurs to me that I am probably
clueless as to the main event for millions of Americans
this week -- the mad shopping rush at those montrosities that
resemble virtual cities that we call malls.
There are several reasons why I don't go there. I suppose in
a way -- outside the scope of my business and professional
life -- I live a very private life. I prefer small towns,
much like the quaintness of the picturesque little New England
villages that I once visited in my childhood and which are
prominently displayed on some of the Norman Rockwell prints
of years gone by. And, as a lad of 12, having perused Franconia Notch and
old Concord, and visited the summit of Mt. Washington -- windiest
spot in the USA -- perhaps that is why I yet dream of
retiring one day to New Hampshire.
My first encounter with what we call a shopping mall as we
now know it came when my mom got a job at one. As a family of
all boys, you can imagine we never had much money and so
our visits were generally in tourist class only. It was
neat to see the skyways, the atriums, the fountains, the
little birds in cages -- and yes the crowds and the parking
lots.
What a wide, wide mix of faces and expressions and reasons
and purposes you can see on the expressions of such a vast
population -- incessantly on the move, ever curious, ever
anxious, rarely pensive.
If I like a store, I tend to shop there regularly -- for most
everything. The price may not always be right, but I promise
you, the service is. Loyal customers get a little bit extra
in attention and courtesy -- even under the most exasperating
situations. If the storekeeper likes you -- you can always
get invited to use the rest room, the telephone, or even
show you the way to a shortcut in a line.
They also appreciate friendly attention to details -- such as noting
those shoppers who are not above board in handling the goodies,
(more commonly known as shoplifting), prices that may have
been incorrect, displays that may be misleading, hazards in
the aisles. And then, I like to extend compliments -- to a
clerk with a cheery disposition, a sales rep with a helpful
disposition, a display that really is beautiful and creative.
I can still look back something close to 35 years ago and recall
my first job at a store, starting as produce helper, then bag
boy, and even cashier -- until I found my temperment was not
cool enough for the latter.
I think the worst thing I hate about crowded shopping -- is
the shoppers. Many arrive, driven to distraction by the
hours and hours of television and other ads they have seen,
craving evermore the latest innuendo of the new and improved
product and directed by the coupons and sales papers they have extracted,
cut up, and marked from their favorite publication. It gives
you a healthy sense of what a materialistic, selfish society
we have become.
Perhaps, even worse, I despise store employees with a sour
attitude. You can spot them a mile away -- and even when the
store is empty. I don't mind sympathy for someone caught
in a traffic jam, with a register that has crashed, or a
price check that lasts forever, or an incompetent shopper
who is like molasses going uphill in January.
I stood in a checkout line for close to 45 minutes one day and
refused to be checked out by anyone else. Why? The register
had crashed...there was some mechanical configuration that
had to be done manually and using two other pieces of equipment,
and just the normal rush of things going on. But I stayed,
because I admired the "grace under fire" with which this young
cashier handled it all -- with dignity, courtesy, and the
best efficiency possible. Indeed, I wrote a letter to her and
her employer to commend her, and recommend a promotion -- which
I see she later got!
One of the mainstays of advertising in my radio career has
been the promotion of hometown shopping -- especially in the
smaller towns and communities which are normally bypassed by the
crowds this time of year. There is a sense of family in these
little towns -- like the ones I work now -- where almost
everybody knows your name, and where it is common for people
to wave and greet you in passing on the road and on the
sidewalk. Why, just yesterday, I went to a specialty shop, and
in just three weeks, the clerk already knows my brand, size, and
flavor of product without being told! I like that.
I have never figured out why parents only interact with their
kids on shopping trips -- it must be the only time they are
ever together in the rat race of modern society, for many.
I can definitely say, I enjoy watching the ones that interact
well -- but for others (and you've seen them), "quality time"
is only a dream. What they do with their kids, and the
reaction they get back -- has to be the classic American
shopping nightmare.
So, I feel for you clerks and shoppers and managers alike.
You are enduring the most thankless time of the year in the
crowded malls and stores -- for an event, that I think -- and
often practice -- should be observed every day of the year.
-- HartKeeper.
Contributed - Hart, I am so glad you addressed the shopping issue. I have been working in the Mall on such
occasions and other retail places during the holiday season and was constantly amazed at the
behavior of some members of the public.It is indeed a very stressful time of year for cashiers and
the rest of the team it takes to manage a business that caters to the public.
I can also remember the few who showed patience and understanding on the most difficult of
days and these people literally changed the trend of the day for me by their simple kindness and
compassion and immensely so by their sense of humor.
There is power in how we treat each other, and depending on how we use that power can
determine how someone else will get through their day. the most wonderful gifts I have been
given in this life have no monetary value.
I remember a time when my register crashed, the grumbing and angry people who somehow felt
singled out for this inconvenience --when a customer with the most delightful sense of humor
brought the room down with laughter --and in that moment the people viewed my situation in a
most different manner and I was off the proverbial hook.
What a gift! With each person checking out it got funnier and funnier and the whole experience
was one of "sharing the problem". Because of one person things had drastically turned around
for ALL of us. Turns out it was one of my favorite days at work. I thanked the person profusely
and the only response received in return was “Merry Christmas".
There is great power in the number of one. This Christmas season it is good to remember that
it is the power of one who changed the world. -- Provera (Ardmore, Oklahoma)
The HartKeeper 
