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Shopping trip reflections on customer service and child rearing

Ron Walter writes about a recent shopping trip and learning to say "no" to children
MJT_RonWalter_TradingThoughts
Trading Thoughts by Ron Walter

I went grocery shopping the other day and left with a bad taste in my mouth.

First off, I wasn’t in a good mood as usually my partner/wife and I turn grocery shopping into an outing. This day she wasn’t feeling well so I was alone.

Having made my selections I went to the till. A young woman was operating the station. As I placed my items on the counter a young male employee joined her and offered to pack groceries as “I have nothing else to do. “

As a customer I was totally ignored.

No “how are you?” greeting. No “did you find everything?” question.

The pair just talked about some scary movie they had seen and about seeing another.

This is one of the worst examples I’ve seen in a while of poor customer service. What a difference from an older employee who spotted me looking distraught down an aisle and offered assistance.

Perhaps these two young people never received any training from their employer.

Watching them, I thought: these two may wonder years from now why they’ve never moved past entry level jobs.

They may be the consequence of labour shortages when employers hire anybody with a pulse.

We are about to enter a time when employees with the right attitude will get job offers from customers.

The pair’s attitude to customers reminded me of a conference in a small Saskatchewan city some years ago where one speaker drew his example of how to not treat the customer from his previous meal in the hotel.

He asked the server for a glass of milk. She refused because the milk wasn’t included with the meal. He offered to pay extra. She still absolutely refused.

A few days after my shopping trip, a friend told us she had a visit from a relative with a youngster. She was upset. The kid ruled the roost. Nothing happened without his approval.

We laughed and then we had a relative visit with a toddler. He too, pretty well dictated what happened and when.

Perhaps these two young employees at the grocery store had that sort of upbringing: me first and no one else matters.

Some parents think it’s cute to let kids always have their own way. Some can’t bear to hurt the kid’s feelings by saying “no.”

Unfortunately, this kind of child rearing can lead to difficulties later in life.

From my days reporting on seminars about child development, I recall the years up to five are when basic habits and attitudes are set for life: things like self-discipline, work ethic, intellectual curiosity, even toilet training and self grooming care.

Without adequate training of children in these areas they can have issues at school and work from not wanting to pay attention to not taking direction.

The early years are no time to allow children to dictate the day’s events.

By the way, the bread goes at the top of the bag, not under bags of oranges and lemons.

Ron Walter can be reached at ronjoy@sasktel.net

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.  

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