Times now are pretty tough.
It has been a pretty exhausting year, and I can tell that majority of the people’s patience is treading on very thin ice. I know for me, some days I’ve completely shut down but I had to come back all for the sake of my two-year-old. Most days I just don’t want to get out of bed and have to “tackle” the day, just to make ends meet. But my tackling is me thinking about what “type of person will I have the pleasure of having an encounter with today.” Will they be pleasant or will it be the “Karen” we have all grown to learn about? Sigh it’s going to be an amazing day! (can you feel the sarcasm)
I write this to say, one day I was standing in a now-normal long line. Behind me, I hear the tapping of the impatient foot, with the occasional huff and puff of the breath. Then, to top it off, the comments: The “oh my God what is taking them so long? They can’t get someone else to help them? Ugh have been standing here too long! Why are they so slow?” with the employees hearing every word that is being said.
Being someone who has worked in customer service for the majority of her life, I can say I understand both sides.
But it’s starting to get worse as the long days and months approach, and we’re not really sure what normal would really be like anymore. We are living in times that, as a community, we really should be helping and uplifting each other and not being impatient and rude. We all play a role in each other’s lives. We’ve learned this during the quarantine. We crave social interaction with each other but we treat each other poorly. Everyone is battling something, and a kind gesture or just standing in a line without having to rush those in front of you would help make someone’s day better.
So, to the big bad wolves out there huffing and puffing to blow on someone because the line is too long or it’s just one register open, think about it like this: there’s a mom out there who has to call out because she has no one to watch her children because another child at their school may have come in contact with COVID. There’s a family member worried about a loved one who may have taken ill or something else and they can’t care for themselves, so the store is short-staffed because of this. Or how about someone who is living in fear because of all the uncertainty in the world and they just want to be home with their kids to protect them. Maybe it’s a person who is just tired, tired of stressing, having anxiety attacks, wondering what’s going to happen if they have to go into work and perhaps take ill or have to tackle the Karens, who have to complain about any and everything.
Think about those people and put yourself in their shoes. Show a little empathy; it’s really what we need within these times. We’re literally all in this together be kind and practice patience. You don’t know someone’s story, and you never know–you may be the person to actually make their day just by being pleasant.
What have you done to make someone’s day better? Let’s talk about it in the comments.
