I needed some cheap shipping supplies this morning and didn't want to wait the 30 minutes until the dollar store opened this morning so I decided to suck it up and go to Wal-Mart.. It is one of my least favorite places to go because 1) I ALWAYS spend more money than I wanted 2) I can NEVER find close enough parking to not break a sweat by the time I reach the door (living in FL it is SO HOT) and 3) The attitude of the other customers and most of the employees is just awful.
Well today my experience was SO different than all of the others I have had. I found a parking spot under a tree right next to the building, I couldn't believe my eyes when I spotted it. I thought it was a handicap spot and almost drove right past. Then when I ventured in, I got a cart right away. I walked into the easter section and could not find what I was looking for, but I did see a grumpy looking older lady who was stocking shelves. I was worried asking my question to her would cause a bunch of sighing and grumbling because I was interrupting her day. Boy was I wrong! She walked me over to the section I needed and asked if there was anything else I needed to find. I said no, thank you out of pure shock! Next I ventured into the craft section (this is one of the reasons I ALWAYS spend more than I want to LOL) and saw some fabric with a bunched top and wondered if I could make that myself instead of buying it at $14 a yard. Well I figured maybe since I had such good luck with the Easter department the scary lady who works in the fabric department would be helpful too. So I asked her how to make such a garment and to my surprise she told me, walked me over to the string I needed, and even found me again in the store a few minutes later to tell me what kind of stitch to use! I have never been so amazed at the customer service in one store let alone Wal-Mart. I have one more item I needed to find and of course it wasn't on the shelf. I needed a specific sized box. Well I thought I would try my luck just one more time and ask the young boy who was stocking the shelves on the next row if he could find it for me in the back. He looked on the shelf, got the number and came back with no box. I started to get disapointed, but then the unexpected happened, the stock boy asked me what kind of item I was shipping and then offered to go look in the back for a box that will work for me. To my surprise he came back with a box that was the perfect fit from their last shipment.
Most people would take this as just a good day at Wal-Mart, but I decided to do what most people wouldn't. I went to ask for the manager on duty. Now I don't know if you have ever done this yourself, but they look at you like "what did we do wrong this time". When I saw the look on this womans face I said I wanted to give a compliment. She took a double take and her eyes lit up. She told every passing associate that I was going to compliment someone. A few shift managers stopped by and they all got so excited. It was amazing to me how excited everyone got. So when the manager finally came up, I told her my story, making sure to give her the names of the 3 people who helped me today and thanked her. She was so happy to be getting some good news! I over heard the morning meeting that day where the 3 people who helped me got recognized for a job well done. The young guy even took a moment to thank ME for what I had done.
It really got me thinking, when was the last time you complained about your bad service at a restaurant or complained to a manager because a store associate was rude to you? When was the last time you got good service and gave a compliment?
