What Has Happened?

Hello!

I have been reading on my Facebook page lately people posting things like " what has happened to customer service?" & "where have all the nice people gone?" My family and I were shown first hand that these posts are mild compared to what is actually happening out there this time of year. Let me be the first to tell you, its down right scary! Allow me to share.

We went to the grocery store on Saturday. This is usually a great family event! LOL, as funny as it seems it really is! The Littles love riding in the car-cart, the Bigs love helping and they have found that if they show an interest in something they usually get it! I think its a great way to have the whole family involved with a household chore. Now, we do get looks. We have a very large family by todays standards. People really do stare us down. The first few people to stare really makes me laugh, after that I take the:

"Take a picture it will last longer" approach...hehehe I never said I was nice! I was in a pretty good mood this day though and I really needed a good day so I was determined to make it a good day regardless of anyone I came into contact with!

Anyway, our trip to the store started out with a major bonus. It was sample day! SCORE! Millie and I were in heaven! They had little stations set up and everything! However, we did notice that it was crazy crowded so Patrick and I took the "you go get this and I will eat and the I will go get that and then you can eat" tactic. It worked for about 10 minutes, then the surge of people got to be so great that we just had to get going on our shopping list. From the minute we left the prepared foods area we saw that we were in store for a little adventure.

People were zipping around that store like it was on fire. It was like a survival game. We were pulling our Bigs out of the way of people that were simply not going to stop, they were practically running with their carts pulling things off the shelves at incredible speeds. I don't know if you ever watched the show Super Market Sweep back in the 90's, if you did, it was like that. Not only were they going at alarming rates but they still gawked at the huge family making its way down the aisle. A very dangerous thing to do! I had 2 favorite moments. The first was this woman with one of those little carts, she was zipping and I mean zipping around, every time we rounded a corner she zipped past us so fast there was a "gush" of wind that made our hair fly up. We had several close calls with my oldest daughter who would bend down to get something off the shelf and we would feel the air change around us, realizing this just in time to pull Millie out of the way! (I really wish I was over exaggerating...) My second favorite moment was when I, trying to be conscious of the other people around me at checkout, put my cart against the wall out of everyones way. Of course this was not good enough for one girl who decided that while I was putting a bag in my cart, that I was not moving fast enough for her. She literally pinned my 6 month pregnant belly against my cart pushing hers so that it scraped my back. UNBELIEVABLE! I was so stressed out when I left the store I was shaking. On the upside, my kids, were angles.

What has happened to people? Do we reserve this kind of awful behavior specifically for this time of year or is it what we have become all of the time? My mom calls this the rude season. I have to agree. I have witnessed so many near misses in the parking lots in the last 2 weeks, people getting cutoff on the roads, purposefully blocking entrances to stores. The customer service industry is really on shakey ground as well. You would think that with way the economy is now people would A-be grateful for the jobs that they have & B-the companies that they work for would want to keep their customers happy.

So I would suggest, slow down. Take a breath. The item you want will still be there in the 10 seconds it takes that family of 6 to get out of your way. Give yourself time, get plenty of rest, grab a coffee, plug into your IPOD & make your shopping experience fun. If it still gets you down and you feel like you would rather drink raw eggs, then shop online or my personal favorite go grocery shopping or do your big box store shopping after 10pm (don't forget your IPOD it keeps the "crazeys" away). Remember that this is the season for giving and remind yourself of that wonderful golden rule, "do unto others as you would have them do unto you". Its important and you will have a much more satisfying experience if you do this. Even though the chances are slim that people will follow the same advice.

Hang in there!

Be Merry and May Happiness Find You Always!

Regina