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Wednesday 17 September 2014

Am I caring or am I just lazy?



It’s been a curious sort of day.  This morning was just housework type things but this afternoon I decided that I had to get this Smartphone sorted so off I went to Tesco Extra in Lincoln where I acquired The Thing about a month ago.
 
I decided to go to the cafe where customers wait to be seated.  Eventually the waitress came and took me to a table in a dark corner.  I declined and said I would rather be seated where I could look over the balcony and watch people in the store.  She said that my mobility scooter and I would be in the way (as presumably shopping trolleys and prams were not).     However I got my own way and I decided that I would write to the manager suggesting that a little disability awareness training wouldn’t come amiss. 

I then went down to the mobile phone department.  The contrast couldn’t have been greater.  The man who served me was courtesy itself.  He sorted out the problems, showed me a few things about my phone and suggested that I make a list and come in again if I needed to.   He was polite and friendly, at no time did I feel stupid or patronised and he was a credit to the firm he works for. 

When I got home I wrote to the store manager to compliment him on the salesman, asking that my thanks be passed on.  After I had written the letter I sat back and reflected.

When I was younger it would have been much more important to me to complain about the waitress but the older me felt it to be more important to praise the young salesman and I certainly didn’t want to do both in one letter because I hope that the manager will show him what I wrote.  Am I becoming pleasanter and more caring as I get older or am I just becoming lazy and unwilling to stand up for myself? I'm not sure.

7 comments:

  1. Well done for praising courtesy.
    I do feel that reminders about Disability awareness are very necessary. Having a disabled husband means that I know how important access is...not to mention a bit of understanding from shop staff.

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  2. I also feel that disability awareness reminders are necessary, I have a disabled Dad and so understand what is needed. I hope the lesson you had enables you to operate the smartphone now.

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  3. What an interesting post. I am a lifelong fighter for peoples rights, but sometimes it can be just as effective to praise good practice. So you are still standing up for yourself, but in a different way.

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  4. A testing question, I walk with elbow crutches at times and get mixed reactions. The waitress certainly needs training, or at least some advice. However in this instance I think that you have done the right thing. It is very rare that you get really good one to one service anywhere so when it happens praise is due. My granny used to say "if you are quick to kick you must also be prompt to praise". You got seated where you wanted so put the lesson across to the waitress.

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  5. haha, fascinating observation but this post did make me giggle. "Am I becoming pleasanter and more caring as I get older or am I just becoming lazy and unwilling to stand up for myself?" :-)

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  6. You did the right thing -- praising the young man was better for him and you both -- complaining about the waitress probably wouldn't have done anything to make her more sensitive and it would have just stolen your joy.

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    Replies
    1. What a perceptive comment - I'd not thought of it as stealing my joy but you are so right.

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