Grumpy Shopkeeper

Is it true that you must pay more for a better service? I think it’s true. Yesterday, I stopped by on store just a few minutes from my house. I just want to buy some cokes. Some of my family members were about to come to visit us. They love cokes and I think it’s far easier to serve than some cup of tea or coffee, right?

I went in to the store and went directly to the food and beverage area. First, I looked into the big chiller full of bottled drinks. I want to buy the cold one so that I don’t need to add ice cubes any more. After searching here and there, I can not find any cold coke everywhere. I can only see the regular bottles laid on a long shelf. I decided to ask the shopkeeper to safe more time, because my husband and daughter were waiting for me in the car outside the store.

I saw her standing next to the bottles of coke. I asked her whether she can show me where to find the cold cokes. She just shook her head and said nothing. She didn’t even smile! I guess she was trying to tell me that they don’t have the cold cokes, only the regular one. But she refused to answer my question directly. After shaking her head, she turned her back at me and starts to arrange some bottle which are already neat and pretend that I wasn’t there.

I don’t know what kind of people is this. I asked her politely and she didn’t even answer my questions. The first thing comes up to my mind was: this woman is definitely crazy! I tried to ask the same questions twice and still got the same kind of body language. Not even a word. This time I justified my first impression on her. She is definitely crazy.

How can a crazy impolitely woman like that got a job to work on store where she needs to give a good service to the customers. I just can’t figure out why.

Or maybe she acted like that because I came there with a simple t shirt and a simple short pant? I wonder would she act different if I showed up with a fancy gown and a stiletto. Will she choose to ignore me either? I bet she will welcome that kind of customer better. I bet she wrote on her mind: wealthy people means big spender. Sigh… She’s got all this wrong.

I think this kind of situation can also happened if I visit a branded boutique with a simple outfit like t shirt and short pant. They will ignore me even if I have a lot of money and 20 credit cards. Why? Because they already judge me from the outside look. In fact, they can’t see through my wallet. They only choose to serve “wealthy look customers” better. Wealthy look. Because, the truth is nobody can absolutely know the inside part of your wallet. Everybody can acts like a wealthy person, but who knows? Customers didn’t have a big logo on their foreheads telling everyone that they’re rich people, right? I’ve seen a lot of high end people who choose to use daily simple outfit when visiting store to buy some things. Don’t judge the book by its cover.

Every customer deserved the best services. Rich or poor, pretty or ugly, black or white, big spender or not. Everyone. And I think every shopkeepers in this world should ask themselves: Am I suitable for this kind of job?

If you can’t put a smile on your lips in front of your customer; or if you can’t answer your customer’s questions politely, I think you should get out of this business. You must learn more about the ethics. Find a job where you can work alone, get grumpy all the time and develop your body language skill better. Such as in a cave or inside your basement, maybe. Sigh..

Sorry for this grumpy share today, fellas. I just can’t hold it myself. I want to share it with you. Have you ever saw a bad shop keeper like that?