The Girl Next Door

No one loves their pistachios more than I, but darn it, good customer service is too often the exception to the rules these days. I mention this because on my way back to the office the other day, through the skyway, I passed a health food store that had a special on my favorite nuts. I only meant to buy one bag, figuring my ever hardening arteries needed a break, but the salesperson was so pleasant, I ended up doubling my purchase.



This wasn't the first time this happened at that store either. The exact same thing happened to me around Christmas time with a different salesperson. A pleasant greeting, a smile, a thank you, and a guy can't stop buying and being impulsive. Human nature craves being treated well just as much as the tummy craves pistachios.



Same thing goes for popcorn too. My favorite family store, the Popcorn Factory, is just a minor jaunt away from my cubicle, so despite their use of Connola (sp?) Oil, I have to supply my daily fix and am never sorry (not yet anyway- CALLING Dr. Kervorkian) that I did. Whether it is the mother, one of the daughters, or the big guy himself (call him the Popcorn Foreman), they always make me feel like I should come by just because they are happy to see me. It's gotten to the point where I can go in and they know what my order is without me muttering, mumbling, a word. Predictable? Perhaps. The Usual? I can't say that very often. And that is a darn good feeling which it wouldn't have always been. You have to allow yourself the ability to enjoy things because what is the point to do otherwise?



You wanna know something? I've learned with my advancing age, it is all in the attitude. As Lou wrote on one of his later albums, "I want the principles of a timeless muse. I want to eradicate my negative views, and get rid of those people who are always on the down." Having been one who has taken to sulking for much of my youth, I can say it is a difficult lesson to succumb to and accept. But it works. Being around people who don't seem to enjoy what they are doing, can be a drag. You know what they say about muscles, smiling and frowning. And after all it wasn't named Grand Old Days by accident.



For one who has preached against the labeling of people, too often I fell into the trap of seeing people in categories. This person is a customer, this person is an acquaintance. This person is my cleaning lady, this person is my soul mate, my favorite mother of two. But people are people. Ebony and Ivory. We all just want to be acknowledged, treated fairly, and be liked. Appearances can be deceiving; you can love and cherish a friend.



People love to gossip, people love to pull you down to their level. And it is easy to let them, hard to maintain your true beliefs. To treat all the people you come across with a good customer service attitude is one funky challenge. That said, what did I do, when one of my all time favorites, Ramblin Rose, came to me feeling a little down? I treated her just the way she has always treated me: with affection and the right touch. She is a person with quiet optimism, so when she is reflective and introspective, it only serves to deepen our understanding of one and other. She has lifted my heart, my spirits so many times, with just a phone call, the sound of her voice, the smile in her eyes, that during this time when the burden of being too busy is wearing her weary, I let her know that she didn't have to say anything; her presence was all that is required. Crossing the line? Maybe, but it was a Special Night, as it always is.



She has after all, bless her soul, taught me much, or at least reinforced inner beliefs. Looking at it through Disney eyes, eternally blue skies; not too long ago, if someone were to ask me which of the seven dwarfs I most identified with, I would have immediately replied either Sleepy or Grumpy. Now days I would emphatically respond SNEEZY! I used to feel like a sneeze that wouldn't happen, now, the inner walls aren't as thick. You may call it a sell out, I call it maturing. Day to day sharing, building trust, makes the world go round.



Cultivating friendships through a customer service attitude is a ying yang type thing because you can work it the other way too- treating your customers the way you would treat a friend. It's an important lesson we all know but too often forget. And once it becomes ingrained on your brain, it is almost as enjoyable as a bowl of pistachios.



NEXT WEEK: THE NEWSLETTER'S SECOND ANNIVERSARY.

TWO WEEKS: A REVIEW OF THE YANNI CONCERT