Chapter Seventeen: Appreciation

Let's be honest: I have definitely done my fair share of complaining...

I have used this blog as a venue to vent my frustrations about interesting encounters with customers. And initially, this was not my plan. I had planned on this blog being primarily a source of humor. So I apologize.

This entry is my attempt for a purely uplifting story:

I started my 8AM day with coffee, not knowing it would be my life saver.

By 9AM, I had already planned on taking a nap at 2PM, when I got off work. Someone let the crazies loose, and they all came running to (insert popular drugstore name). They were cranky and anything that could go wrong, did. (...Okay. I said I would try to omit the complaints... & you need to hear the backstory anyway.)

By 2PM, I found out the second shift needed to be covered. I offered to take it, making it a fourteen hour work day.

By 8PM, I had developed six-ish rolls of film, restarted a digital photo order three times, unloaded umpteen boxes and stocked them onto shelves, and began my second passport order....

....I didn't think much of it. The customer, a woman in her twenties, was preparing for a trip and needed to take those terribly awkward pictures where you stand in front of a janky white screen and blankly stare at the stranger with the camera. I always feel bad for the person that needs passport pictures. I've been there. You can't smile. No glasses. You don't look anything like yourself.... Anyway - we made small talk for a few minutes while I printed her pictures. We talked about our upcoming out of country trips and even realized we had mutual friends. A few minutes later, after I rang up her order, another customer approached me with a question, so she left.

By 9PM, I was sitting in the middle of the alcohol aisle, where I was stocking shelves. It occurred to me that I had been on my feet for thirteen straight hours for the first time in... well, forever, and that may have been the reason I couldn't feel my feet. So I sat down for a good five minutes and contemplated my day.

By 930PM, I headed back to the front counter to close down the photo machines, and the same customer from an hour before came through the front doors.

"Did you forget something?" I asked.

"No," she responded. "I just wanted to come back and tell you that I really appreciated your help earlier. You were so nice."

I was shocked. I think I rattled off some form of gratitude. (I hope.) My energy levels had faded, as well as my capacity to remember what I'd been saying to customers...

Regardless, I was and still am so appreciative of her kind words. I failed to mention earlier that our weather forecast has been freezing rain all day. And the fact that she drove back to thank me is crazy - and inspiring. If I gain nothing else from this job (which is nearly impossible), I will remember to take the time to appreciate others - from family members to strangers.

By no means am I saying I did some crazy thing by taking a double shift today. It was crazy for me because I'm a wimp, and I wasn't planning on this day where everything that could go wrong, did. My boss works double shifts about every week or so. And so do the pharmacists. So it's not as if this isn't normal behavior at my workplace. And yes, of course I know that there are much more daunting jobs out there - tedious, dangerous, or painfully boring. I know I'm not a victim in this story - or in this job. Far from it. I am incredibly blessed...

Again, all I mean to say is that I am appreciative of appreciative people. In the midst of a crazy and unexpected day, I got a breath of fresh air.

To all the appreciative people in the world: I appreciate you.