The Little Bit that seems to have made a lot of Difference

    It is said the Northerners and Southerners- particularly deep and old school southerners - shop VERY differently. Northerners want to go in- pick what we want- pay for it and move on. We are said to want no dealings with people, that we wish to pay and be gone! The Old School/ traditional Southern Style is to make shopping more of a social occasion. You chat, you ask people how they are and listen to and actually care about what they tell you.

 I really do not like where I live, it seems to be inconvenient to get to and the parking is somewhat of a nightmarish mess. The maintenance staff here is not punctual, seem to be rather underpaid and often need multiple efforts to get things repaired - more or less!

 I am a Yankee- both by baseball fan rooting and birth- I grew up in The Southwestern Bronx. I can easily be curt and cut and dried.. This is something that, over the last year or so, that I am noticeably working to overcome.

I've had success in this as was demonstrated today as I shopped at a near by shopping mall. Even though it was slower, I chose a line  that was being cashiered by a woman named Diana, I really do not like Shoppers but Diana is a very pleasant lady who smiles at each customer and usually has a kind word for each customer. I stood behind a woman who seemed to take forever to get through the line to tell Diana how I am blessed by the way she deals with me. That seemed to touch her. I complemented her manager as well and Diana called her over to tell her what I shared with her!

 Before I left The Shoppers,I rented a Movie - Grownups - from the Redbox there. I was a bit anxious- I thought I might have a problem with my PS2 as my player seemed to have a problem playing Redbox movies through. With that on my mind, I stopped at The Gamespot Store on the other side of the mall. I told  Nina, an employeee there I often chat with about my concern. She said it was most likely the discs being scratched or damaged more than a failure of my PS2. I showed her the disc and she examined it and said it looked like it was in PRETTY good shape. However, She sprayed a little Windex on the disc and then very gently wiped it with a towel.. She then put something that she poured out of  a small bottle on the disc.

It was, again, an advantage of being more willing to get to know the people at a store rather than just asking them about products and asking them to scan them! People are people and being friendly does give you a great benefit.

 I was told years ago that it is best to "Bloom Where You Are Planted". I am glad and grateful that I finally decided, to a still too limited degree, to place this concept into practice!

 - Johnny -