I deserve ice cream

On the way home from the card shop yesterday, I stopped for a cup of mint ice cream. I deserved it. I got two -- 2! -- compliments for my work. 

First, my boss Ceecee held the first of what will be regular monthly meetings of the assistant store managers. I found afterward that Jen, the manager I work with most often, reported how well I was doing. I don't know the details -- I'm going to be formally reviewed this sometime this month -- but Ceecee wanted me to know. 

I appreciated hearing this because I'd been a little anxious about the review thing (I thought I'd left that heinous ritual behind when I retired from advertising) and because when I first started at the shop six months ago, Jen and I were like oil and water. Since she's become more patient with me, I have been doing better.

Then something extraordinary happened.

A woman called the shop. She wanted a narrow gift box for a tube of mascara. I recommended a gift bag -- we have plenty of those -- but no, she wanted a box. So I carried her with me as I checked our box stock. None on the display on the east wall ... none under the gift display in front ... none in the overstock on the back wall. Sorry. No gift boxes that would be perfect for a tube of mascara.

She asked to talk to the store manager.

Gulp.

I told her I'd be happy to put Ceecee on the line, but she should know that we are corporate owned and don't have a lot of influence over the stock we carry. "I still want to talk to the manager," she insisted.

I took the phone back to Ceecee, who was in the office, and told her who the lady was and what had happened.

Ceecee listened for a moment and then said, "Thank you. Very nice to hear .... Our store has been here 30 years but the Gal is one of our newer employees ... I will tell  her ... We hope to see you in person soon ...."

She was that impressed by how "pleasant" and "extremely helpful" I was! All I did that anyone else might not do was, instead of putting the phone on the counter and looking around, I brought her with me and told her what I was seeing. Not that big a deal and it felt very natural to me. But it was a big deal to her.

Here's what I learned: If you receive good service, compliment it. I never before realized how much it matters.

Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash