My Tale of Woe for the Week (and it is not about The Fitting Room)

Today I am just going to explain why I have not written anything for about a week. It is totally off the subject of this blog but still has to definitely do with me.

The last couple weeks have been real doozies (like that word?) for my family and I. Approximately one week ago I was doing my long overdue lawn mowing. I had gotten a few strips done when i heard this not so nice sound. One of those sounds when you know something is wrong. Of course my lawn had stopped and when I moved it there was a piece of a belt on the ground. So I am going to have to get a new belt for the motor and more than likely will need some heavy duty maintenance on the lawnmower such as cleaning, an oil change, sharpening the blades and whatever other kind of maintenance is done on mowers.

But that was just the beginning of our problems for the week. The next day or so there was so much rain the basement flooded again. This time we were deluged with masses amount of dirt along with the rain. The last few times it has just been mainly water so the clean up was not really bad. This time it is a total disaster. Many of you are probably thinking why don't I just get something done so that this does not keep happening. Believe me, I wish it were that easy. But it happens to be a very expensive project and right now our money is very thin.

It is said that things come in threes. Well, the third thing to happen is when I went to take a shower and the shower doors fell off. The top rim was loose and came off partially and the doors were right behind in coming off. I am hoping that this is the last of it. I would not wish the kind of week we had on anybody.

Everything is fixable but it all costs money and time. I might be able to do the shower doors. And I can clean up the mess in the basement, but to make it actually totally livable is going to cost quite a bit of money. I could try to do some of the fixing on my own but it really does need a professional job. And last is the lawn mower which I can get fixed but is also going to take some money (as does almost everything).

We have an extra bedroom on the first floor which my daughter did a fantastic job of cleaning up. You can't even tell it is the same room. And we are slowly moving all her stuff up that did not get ruined. Thankfully knowing that when it rains hard enough we know things might get wet and most everything was already off the floor and moved up far enough so as not to get wet. Unfortunately a few things fell and got ruined. But all in all, it was not too bad as far as her stuff not getting ruined. The actual floor is a whole different story. The flooring has to be all taken up in the room she actually slept and lived in.

Well, that is my story for the week and my excuse for not doing my blog lately. I have off part of the day and I am going to spend it cleaning some more so it might be a few more days till I get back to the subject at hand, but at least I wanted to say something about what is going on.

Hope your week was better than mine. And I definitely am counting on these next days being much better for everyone. Right now I am going to take it a day at a time otherwise I feel I might get overwhelmed and fall apart which is something I really do not want to happen.

Thanks for stopping by and reading my tale of woe. I would appreciate any comments that would bring me some uplifting or help or good advice on how to handle my demise.

Be back soon.

Customers and Co-workers

Okay so here I am again still having a problem trying to just write without getting hung up on spelling and grammar and saying (or writing) the right thing. I am going to try to get over that once and for all. So if I have a couple misspelled words or I do not say the right thing the right way I hope that you will not judge me on that.

I started out by writing about our interaction with the customers. I guess all I can say to put a closing on that is most of the time most of the customers are patient and kind and are usually in a good mood when they are shopping. We laugh and crack jokes with them. We talk about some serious issues. And once in awhile we do get in a tiff. Hey, but we are all human, right?

Next to the customers, I believe how we get along with our co-workers is just as important. At least when it comes to the way we feel about our working environment how we feel about the people we work with can also be a job maker or breaker.

Most of the people I work with are really great and I get along with most everyone. But I admit that I have always been one of those people that are easy to get along with. I try and see the good in everyone and always try to treat my co-workers like I would like them to treat me (the same as I do with the customers).

Sometimes I act a bit goofy but it helps lighten the load and I do get people to laugh and put a smile on their faces. It is something I enjoy tremendously, being able to make people smile and laugh.It is important to have a good attitude and say something nice so others feel good. Wouldn't you rather have someone say something nice to you or get a compliment than have something mean thrown at you.

I really do believe that the retail business can be so demanding to the point where it can either bring out the very best or the very worst in people. I also believe it is true that the jobs that pay the least can almost always be the most stressful. I spent years working in an office and now my job is much more demanding physically and I get paid a lot less. Both types of jobs have their pros and cons, but the people I work with at this job are much nicer and happier than the people that I worked in an office with.

All I can say is that it really does pay to treat people with kindness and respect no matter if they are co-workers or store customers. Whether those people are happier or not, I definitely feel much better about myself when I treat others the right way.

Concentrating On The Postive

I seem to be having a hard time writing these posts. I keep rewriting them trying to find the best way to express myself and say what I want to say the right way. I know I should just go ahead and write and not worry so much about them being right. Right? (Sorry about the word right/write being so repetitive.)

One thing I have decided to do is concentrate on the the good things people do for each other. It seems we have a natural tendency to complain and criticize more than compliment and see the good side of others. So that is why I have decided to spend two weeks instead of one on each of the different subjects of How People Treat Each Other. So I am staying on How the Customers and Employees Treat Each Other this week too. (I also believe I have finally fixed AdSense on this blog which in itself has been very time consuming.)

Back to what this blog is supposed to be about. I was thinking about how I had thanked one of our customers for hanging the clothes back so neatly. The tops and sweaters were buttoned back up and zippers zipped on pants and capris and etc. It saves us a whole lot of time when we do not have to do those extra little things. I really do try and show my appreciation for even the smallest courtesies that the customers take the time to do. Along with showing my appreciation I always try to give customers a compliment with a smile as much as I can. It really does help make the whole atmosphere much better and brighter. I can turn a disgruntled and moody customer into one that is smiling and laughing. For some reason I am really good at that. I enjoy making people's day a little bit brighter which in turn helps to make my day that much better than it would have been or better than it already is. Of course there are also those times when I am in a bad mood and just a kind word, a nice smile or some small considerate act will turn my whole day around. I really am grateful when that happens. I do not like myself very much on days when I feel and act like a disgruntled victim. (Just that description sounds terrible).

It really is true what is said that 'We use up a lot more energy being angry and upset than we do when we smile and are happy'. I know I feel really tired and drained mentally and physically when I have had bad encounters with people and the day seems very long. And there are those days when if feels as if everything has gone wrong. But when it has been a good day and I have been laughing and joking with the customers I leave work with a smile on my face and a surge of energy ready to tackle some of the projects I have left to do at home. I can then look back at the day and feel good about it because I know it has been a full and fruitful day. A day in which I have accomplished some of the things I set out to do and a day that I have helped to make a little bit better and brighter for myself and others.

I would love to hear other ways to make this world a brighter and better place to live. How do you put a smile on someone's face? What do people do that can make you feel happy?

Treat Others As You Would Like To Be Treated

So here I am writing my first post on How We Get Along With Each Other in A Shopping Environment. I have been writing and rewriting this post and that is why it has taken me an extra two days to actually publish it. Plus I am having problems with my adsense ads on this blog. I cannot get them to show up correctly.

First I would like to say that most of the customers are pretty decent and some are really great. I have people who are regulars and come in at least once a week if not more. Of course there are those who seem to be there almost every day. I believe that some of the customers
come just because they have made friends with the associates (that is what the employees are called now in most stores, I believe, unless they are management). Many of the customers remember us from the old store which makes us feel good because it means we hopefully made a good impression on them in the first place. It also means that many customers now come to this store because of the associates.

Sometimes I wonder if many of these people are lonely and it is a way to get out of the house and be around familiar faces. We really do get to know some of our customers quite well. Also, we find out a lot about them because they will come with others in the family or friends and we see how they are around those they are closest with.

I hate to say it but sometimes how the day starts sets the pattern for the day. If I get a customer who is really happy and really nice my day can go really well. But start a day off with one of those women who treats everyone as if they are their personal maids or those who just are plain rude and nasty to just about everyone that they come in contact with, my day goes downhill really quick. But usually it only takes a few really nice customers to get me back in a good mood.

I have customers who come in to the Fitting Room and if I ask them to hang their clothes on the rack so I can count them I will get a response like 'I can count'. Then I have to tell them I still need to count them also. Then there are those who say 'I have eight items' (eight being the max that they can take it at one time) and I tell them I still have to count the items and when I do there are ten or twelve items instead of eight. And they will act dumbfounded, as if they counted eight when they knew they had more. I really get peeved when the customers treat us as if we are stupid, yet they can not even count the items they have correctly. It just really amazes me how silly people can be at times.

I always try to treat people like I want to be treated. I always try to be considerate and polite to everyone even when I am not treated that way. Sometimes being kind and polite will help turn the person who is in a foul mood or being rude around and they will start treating others better after that.

So, please, again, just treat people as well as you want to be treated and it will work in your favor most of the time. People do appreciate a kind word and a nice smile more often than not.