day 106... praising unsung achievement

day 106... praising unsung achievement

Well you can see what todays task was above, i just had to consider where to look for such an achievment, i mean everyday.. ok maybe not everyday but i bet fairly often people go above whats required of them at work when serving you, you might notice it and thing "oh that made a pleasent change", but i bet you never gave a second thought to it, i know i never have, what if the acknowlegement of the extra effort given by said employee either to them personally or their superiors, and whatever resulted from your words  was a badly needed lift.

Rarely in england does anyone working a minimum wage job at say a supermarket give you anything other than a tut or a grunt or a forced semi smile as an atempt to hide contempt for your disturbance when when they are aproached with a query (for the benefit of foreign readers, as i know smiley and helpfull is a default setting for checkout girls in canada)

Having set the scene for you, i headed for tesco, badly in need of shopping, knowing that if anyplace was unlikely to provide good service of noteable standardsa supermarket would  surely be it. If i asked enough staff to help me find something, would any suprise me and show a want to help, a degree of freindliness? if they did  they would be rewarded with a letter to the boss.

I'll cut a long story short, i spoke to 3 assistants, for directions to certain items i was "having trouble finding" to which i recieved vague hand gestures and grunts before i asked a girl if she knew where i could find silverado stag chilli...  " i do yeah" she said  sounding happy id asked, then lead me the whole way across the supermarket,, chatting to me as she went...she even tried to pull the chilli down off the top shelf but wastoo short.. which she seemed embarased by.. but made me want to write to the boss all the more.. cuteness wins points like.. definately. I left with a name (from the badge) and a knowledge that some supermarket workers hadnt yet been sucked of all life.

heres the very brief letter:-
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Dear manager,
I always shop at your store, and am generally content with the service I receive, and the general shopping experience.
Today I came to do my weekly shop as ususal, and was having trouble finding a few items, and although all of the staff I spoke to during my shopping trip provided adequate instruction as to how what I was seeking could be acquired, One member of staff (Sara who works on the drinks section) was very helpful indeed, her desire to be of assistance, and friendly demeanor were a breath of fresh air.
I felt this deserved acknowledgement. I hope and expect she is a valued member of staff at your store.
Yours sincerely

Mike Shotton

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So today i praised unsung achievement, ok it wasnt a massive achievement, but to be fair if you often shop in english supermarkets, youll know just how rare a thing someone seeming like they are genuinely happy to help is. I hope you enjoyed the words "shopping experience" in the letter i tried to put myself in the mindset of the kind of person who usually writes that kind of letter.... middle class biff i thought. hope the letter fits.