Most people, like me don’t start off the morning well, especially Monday morning. I was feeling pretty down myself, with good reason, as I went into B&Q for paint.
“Good morning, Sir!’ an assistant chirped, and I forced a smile though I couldn’t see what was good about it. I entered the shop.
‘How are you this morning, Sir?’ This just as I passed by, with no intention of entering that department. ‘Fine!’ I muttered, though I may have smiled as well.
‘Can you help me?’ I asked the girl in the Paint Dept. She was with another (customer/worker/supplier?). ‘In a moment, Sir’, with a smile.
‘Ah!’ I thought. ‘There’s the rub! The one you need.’
Seconds later she approached, positively radiating charm and apologising profusely. ‘How can I help you?’ Her smile was infectious. In fact, she put an arm unobtrusively round me. Mentally I rebuked myself. ‘Don’t judge others …’
At the checkout, it was the same, warm smiles, friendly greeting and charm. In fact, the assistant at the adjacent checkout turned to greet me warmly also.
‘Right! That’s it!’ I announced, loudly. ‘I can’t take all this niceness at 9.00 am on Monday morning. I don’t even have my grandchildren with me, who may deserve such treatment. What’s with it anyway?’
One second of stunned silence. Then they copped on. ‘I can do ‘barking at the customer too’, if you like’, one announced, in a sharp tone. The second joined in! 10 meters away, a semi-circle of assistants was getting instructions for the day, and clearly overheard. A sharp voice called out:
‘What’s all this noise and laughter!
You’re not supposed to enjoy yourself when shopping here, don’t you know?’
By now, everyone was falling about with merriment.
What a shopping experience!
For all those lovely B&Q workers, I reproduce the following poem:
Smiling
Smiling is infectious
You catch it like the flu
When someone smiled at me today
I started smiling too.
I passed around the corner
And someone saw my grin
When he smiled, I realized
I’d passed it on to him!
I thought about the smile
And then I realized its worth
A single smile like mine
Could travel round the Earth.
If you feel a smile begin
Don’t leave it undetected
Let’s start an epidemic quick
Till all the world’s infected.
[ I’ll bet I made you smile!! Go on ! Share it! ]