The
end of my 6 ½ hour Greeter shift on a Wednesday was near. “Barb” had been
waiting a 1 ½ hours for an electronic cart as there was no way she could walk
her shopping trip without some kind of mobile assistance. She sat quietly on a
bench at the front of the store reading the current store advertisements. I had
not forgotten her.
Our
supply of Amigos (electronic carts) was currently on short supply. Of the eight
the store owned, three were due for repair, two were fully dead and needed a
complete recharge, and the three good ones were in use. I was hoping there
would be an Amigo for Barb by the time I left 2pm. I would skip my afternoon
break to make sure she got an Amigo before the end of my shift.
Fifteen
minutes before I was scheduled to go home, an Amigo became available. I felt
Barb deserved the best for not leaving our store to go elsewhere. I wanted to
make sure I delivered this Amigo personally to Barb to show the appreciation of
our store for her loyalty.
I
liked “Percy” as my fellow Greeter. Today, he was at the General Merchandise
doors. As he saw me coming, I was reminded by him that there was always to be
greeter coverage at the Grocery doors (at the other end of the store).
At
this point, I had a choice to put the person first (as Jesus, my wife, and the
store management would do) or follow the rules, which were often ignored when
other more important things needed to be finished as a Greeter. Anyway Percy
was another employee just like me, and had no supervisorial abilities to tell
me what to do.
With
complete irritation, I told Percy to go man the other doors if himself if that
was what he wanted done. As Percy left, I hurried the Amigo to Barb, and once
again apologized for the delay. Whether Barb told anyone (verbally, written, or
electronically) about my desire to make her a happy customer, I was content
with choice I’d made as I drove off the store parking lot.
Have
you ever had a situation at work where you had to choose between the rules and
what was right no matter the consequences to you? What choice did you make? Can
your conscience live with the option you chose? In this particular instance,
would you do anything differently? These are all important questions to think
about. What will you do when those hard-to-determine choices show up with no
warning? Be ready.