I was in a grocery store recently, which also has a pharmacy. I was filling a prescription for my daughter. The store manager happened to be behind the pharmacy counter and was talking to a young lady (perhaps mid 20’s) who was helping to fill prescriptions and work the cash register. I believe her title is “Technician.” She said to the manager - “I’m just having a really bad day.” Jokingly I said to her as she approached me to take my order - “What can I do to make your day better?” She replied - “Go away.” She said this without a smile. I said - “Wrong answer.” The manager looked dumbfounded and with a smile said to the young lady - “Now that wasn’t very nice.” You’re right Mr. Manager, that wasn’t very nice at all. And by the way, you should have stepped in and taken care of me, knowing you had a time bomb working behind the counter.

Great leadership skills are hard to come by. If you are in a management or leadership position, be sure to let your employees know that customers really don’t care about their bad day and they certainly don’t want to hear about it. Especially when they’re reaching into their pockets to give you their money.

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