We eventually wandered into a Christmas Shop down near the docks and began browsing. We both overheard a woman with an unfamiliar accent ask the young lady behind the counter if they could take a picture of this lovely shop as they had never seen anything quite so beautiful? (I knew the accent was not from Jersey. It turned out it came from a Russian tourist.)
Between bites from a bagel with cream cheese the young gal uttered with absolutely no eye-contact whatsoever, “No. Store policy.” That response was a bit terse even from a guy who grew up just east of Exit 35.)
Of course being the guy who spends most of his waking hours teaching people how to treat their customers like dogs, I found my immediate attention drifting toward something that I (and my wife) knew was none of my business. Nonetheless, I figured that here was an ideal opportunity to spread some good, old fashion American hospitality to a couple of out of towners. (We all should be on active alert for opportunities like this one.)
Understanding that this had little to do with me, I silently approached the counter and asked the same question, from my intermediary position. Same response, but I swear I saw some cream cheese flying in my direction. I dodged the projectile and asked to plead my case to the store manager hoping to take exception to the store policy just this one time. After swallowing another wad of bagel the counter guard said, “He is around here somewhere, but I don’t know where he is at!” Although it crossed my mind at the time, I did not want to waste my time reminding this little girl that it is not proper English to end a sentence with a preposition. If you want to show the world that you are uneducated, throw in a few “ats” at the end of a sentence. And while you are at it, use “aks” in place of the word “ask” if you ever want to throw a little grease on the fire.
Final Result: Store clerk – 1.
Marchev & Russian guest — 0.
Upon leaving the store in defeat I mentioned to the counter help that the store policy probably had some small print somewhere among the small print that suggesting that sales clerks should not eject cream cheese bits in the direction of potentially paying customers. My wife then very politely suggested that it would be in this young lady’s best interest if she actively started seeking employment more fitting for her lack of social skills.
Because I value your readership and recognize your intelligence, I am not going to explain the glaring lessons in this sequence of events. There is more than one. I will mention that it is not always in your best interest to blindly follow your procedure policy manual. There are times and situations where it is not advisable to say “no” while eating cream cheese. If by chance this particular “shoe” does fit, you too might want to consider looking for a job that isn’t such a “job.” I can feel the bristles now! Don’t shoot the messenger.
Mike Marchev freely shares his experiences, strategies and observations with travel professionals in an effort to keep them on top of their game. For a complimentary copy of his 12-Word Marketing Plan send him an email at mike@mikemarchev.com.
Mike Marchev’s next business building webinar is on Friday, October 26, 2018. It will focus on the 9 Selling Strategies you can implement at once at no cost with very little effort. Click Here for details.
Mike’s daily column is made possible by AmaWaterways.
