What a Beautiful Baby!

My last store as a Sav-on Manager was in South Gate, California, a blue-collar town just outside of Los Angeles.  

One day a couple was filling out a film envelope and getting ready to drop it in the box when I noticed they had a baby stroller with them.  I love kids, and I couldn’t resist peeking inside.  The most beautiful baby girl you’ve ever seen!

When I looked up at the parents, they were both staring at me and they both looked very upset.  I was stunned  to see that both of them had the same vulgar words tattooed on their necks, words I can’t really reprint here.   As he stared at me with this angry  look, I asked if this was his little girl.  He said, “Yeah!”

When I told him how beautiful she was and that the two of them must be very proud, he broke into the biggest smile and said, “Yes we are.”  Then the 3 of us talked for several minutes about their beautiful little girl.

The Essential Lesson:   Remember, if you judge the customer by how they look you will never be able to really connect with them unless they look like you.  

Every single one of them deserves your undivided attention and respect, EVERY SINGLE ONE.

Post script to this story:  I have always wondered how many negative reactions this couple must get in their lives as they meet people, but it really convinced me that I should just treat everyone as a friend.