A Small Rant !!!

I am going to break my "no resolutions" rule. Imagine that, I'm breaking the no resolutions rule to make one. This is a small rant on what I feel is an important thing (IMO).

We went yesterday to get a load  of firewood which is no small task. We're up at 5, load up the truck with supplies we need, have a quick bite to eat and out the door at 6. We drive for an hour to get there, set up, saw chop and stack the wood into the truck, clean up and head home. So now we're at 10 am, I'm tired, wet from the rain, and we still had to get home and unload the truck, stack the wood and clean up. I asked hubby if he would mind stopping at a store in the area as it would save me time to not have to drive out again ( a 45 min drive each way) to pick up or order what I needed.

So off we went. I went in with a smile and said hi by name since I know her, and commented on how well she seems to be doing as the store is teaming with class offerings (painting) and there were a few students busy painting. (I haven't been there for a long time.) She kind of grunted and I dismissed that. I set about trying to deal with her but her attitude was aggressive, and completely rude and the details are not worth repeating. To sum it up, I called her back and left a message to cancel the order I placed with her and why!! I specifically went there to shop with her, to support her, and would have had to drive back there to pick up the order, but not now. I've ordered what I wanted online and in doing so, I even picked those items up on sale.

I'm usually a very calm and patient customer (those that know me know that to be true)  especially when I can see they are busy and short staffed as it serves no purpose to be otherwise, they are trying their best to get to me. But, from now on when I go into a store and there is nothing urgent happening or there is no other customer in there other than me, and I get spoken to in that condescending and rude way, I will simply walk out and tell them why I am doing so.

I am truly fed up with people who are running a business and the last thing on their mind is having respect for their customers. If you don't want to deal with the public, don't have a business where you have that much contact with them. I once heard someone say that they (the store owners) aren't hungry enough, if they were, they wouldn't treat those that keep them in business with such disdain. Running a business is not easy I know that, but with the economy on a downturn at this time and many businesses struggling to stay open and many closing, wouldn't you think that you would do your best to keep those customers coming and happy so that they will come back and bring their friends. ????

This turned into a bigger rant than I intended, but the bottom line for me is that from now I will not just try to understand why someone is being rude in a store, or standing around with another employee discussing the weekend doings or some other situation where I'm being ignored or spoken to in a demeaning way.

Perhaps if we all do that, those businesses that deserve to be successful will continue, and those that don't, deserve to close. It's all about attitude and I have found some of that.... so thanks to that shop owner yesterday for her bad manners. Someone else profited from her lack of respect for me as a customer, and I learned that I don't have to take that abuse.

To end on a positive note, being angry like that was a good thing. I channeled it into a clean up of my work table and a tidy up and organizing of sewing projects and then a good vacuuming of the room, so by the time I fell into bed I earned that nights sleep, now I feel better having advocated for myself and spent time with my stuff ;o)) and got everything tidied up for the next project. Thank you for taking the time to read this.