Societal Thinking

            A little while ago, my father sent an email out to all the people that he worked with, and he carbon copied me in it. It was an article about listening: what does it actually mean to listen to other people, do we actually put forth the effort to listen to other people, and how does that affect our lives were some of the topics that the author discussed ("Cogent Communicator: We're Terrible Listeners, and Here's Why" by Susan de la Vergne).

            I work as a cashier in a craft supplies shop, and that article got me thinking. I see a lot of things in a shift that make me raise my eyebrows, and I’m fairly certain that social listening skills like the ones discussed in that article would address most of them.

            Almost immediately upon starting at the store, I realized that I wasn’t always going to be dealing with the nicest people society has to offer. Working retail, it’s understood that every once in a while there would be a person who acts like a pain; what I didn’t realize was that there are a great many people who, while not acting outrageously, are just rude enough to make retail a very difficult job.

            Many of the customers that I deal with will say, “Oh, I didn’t realize,” or “Oh, I wasn’t paying attention,” or, my personal favorite, “Oh, I wasn’t thinking.” This last is, I think, the underlying issue that needs to be addressed. We are a society that doesn’t think. I’m not saying that we’re dumb or that everyone walks around in a haze or that we’re incapable of doing better than this (let’s face it, I wouldn’t bother to write about it if I didn’t have hope that we could improve as a whole). What I’m saying is that we’ve become so used to a certain, standard mode of operation that we tend to forget that each transaction, whether it be business or personal, is unique and has potential to be something great.

            I’m not so naïve as to believe that everyone who reads this is going to have a profound, life-altering conversation with the sales clerk every time they go to the store. That being said, I am naïve enough to think that we should, collectively, as a society, try and not negate that potentiality before it even has a chance. Even if all that our efforts yield is a few more polite conversations, that would be great. However, I personally believe that being mindful of what we say and how we say it makes us better people; knowing how much effort I put into my work makes me respect the work of others all the more; having waited on irritable customers, I respect the people who can do so and stay calm and polite throughout the entire transaction; remembering how I’ve been treated by some retail workers makes me cognizant of what some of my customers are feeling as far as customer service is concerned; acknowledging that I’ve been nasty to several retail workers makes me work harder to keep from making my customers feel that way.

            And I most certainly am naïve enough to think that if I can do it, so can other people.