What I will miss in Grenada: My kids’ popularity. Everyone knows and loves my kids. Wherever we walk or ride, someone will say, “Hi Esther” or comment on how big William is getting. William has many bus friends who he loves to play peek-a-boo with. Esther feels pretty special as she walks through the mall and people shout, “Hi Esther” from their shops (even the lady in the lingerie shop since Esther ran in there once to look at their watches). I never have to worry about my kids’ safety. If Esther wanders off while I’m doing laundry (yes, I do sometimes take my eyes off of her), the security guards know her and keep an eye on her until I arrive. If she runs away in the mall, everyone will point out the way to me as I track her down.
Esther and William waiting for the bus after shopping one day.
What I will like in America: Fast friendly service, especially during busy times. One American custom that I really enjoy is teaching employees the art of customer service. I think many Americans get a little too used to this and expect the impossible from employees. But in Grenada it is a different story. Workers will make you wait while they chat with their friends for long periods of time before they will help. When we find a restaurant or store where the employees smile it is a rare treat. Okay, my kids' cuteness can earn a smile anywhere except KFC, but otherwise many workers seemed offended that we want to place an order or pay for our items. This rant is inspired by my trip to the grocery store today. It was a busy Saturday and all the check-out lines were long. My friend was in front of me, and before the cashier would start to ring up her food she had to chat with her friend for a minute. While the cashier slowly got my friend’s food rung up William was grabbing everything off the narrow isle shelf. Esther was busy tormenting William, then crying when he pinched her. I had seven items. The person behind me had two. When my turn finally arrived the cashier asked if she could check the person behind me first. I wanted to get out of that store so my kids could calm down so I said “no.” Normally I say “yes,” because normally I have a full load of groceries when asked that question, but it didn’t seem to me that seven items should take much longer than two. I was wrong. I made the mistake of buying the kids an ice cream cone. It did not have a UPC. My cashier’s strategy was to try guessing several different codes to see which one was right. She eventually figured it out, then had to call the manager to cancel something she accidentally added to my purchase during her code hunt. Meanwhile my kids were getting crazier by the second. After a moment I decided to bag my own groceries rather than wait a few more minutes for her to get around to it. Granted, this does not happen every time I go to the store, and there are some less than ideal employees at most American stores, but this sort of thing tends to happen a lot less often in America.
Esther and William waiting for the bus after shopping one day.What I will like in America: Fast friendly service, especially during busy times. One American custom that I really enjoy is teaching employees the art of customer service. I think many Americans get a little too used to this and expect the impossible from employees. But in Grenada it is a different story. Workers will make you wait while they chat with their friends for long periods of time before they will help. When we find a restaurant or store where the employees smile it is a rare treat. Okay, my kids' cuteness can earn a smile anywhere except KFC, but otherwise many workers seemed offended that we want to place an order or pay for our items. This rant is inspired by my trip to the grocery store today. It was a busy Saturday and all the check-out lines were long. My friend was in front of me, and before the cashier would start to ring up her food she had to chat with her friend for a minute. While the cashier slowly got my friend’s food rung up William was grabbing everything off the narrow isle shelf. Esther was busy tormenting William, then crying when he pinched her. I had seven items. The person behind me had two. When my turn finally arrived the cashier asked if she could check the person behind me first. I wanted to get out of that store so my kids could calm down so I said “no.” Normally I say “yes,” because normally I have a full load of groceries when asked that question, but it didn’t seem to me that seven items should take much longer than two. I was wrong. I made the mistake of buying the kids an ice cream cone. It did not have a UPC. My cashier’s strategy was to try guessing several different codes to see which one was right. She eventually figured it out, then had to call the manager to cancel something she accidentally added to my purchase during her code hunt. Meanwhile my kids were getting crazier by the second. After a moment I decided to bag my own groceries rather than wait a few more minutes for her to get around to it. Granted, this does not happen every time I go to the store, and there are some less than ideal employees at most American stores, but this sort of thing tends to happen a lot less often in America.
1 comment:
Oh no, what a day. I have gotten a little impatient there before too.
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