Attitude Adjustment

Shopping is not my favorite thing. I want to go in the store, find what I want, buy it and leave. Since we were planning a Thanksgiving pie social at our house, my husband, John, and I decided we could use some sturdy wooden T.V. trays. Penney’s is pretty much the only store I shop in, and they had some on sale. I enlisted John’s help and off we went to buy the trays.

We located the section of the store where the boxes of trays were stacked. But they were heavy and we needed assistance. To get to our car we would have to take the boxes down the escalator, through the store and across the parking lot.

So we sought help.

The young sales lady was less than pleased to be asked to do anything. She finally agreed to walk to the spot where the trays were on display. We explained we wanted to purchase two boxes and asked about help getting them to the car. She mumbled something about being able to take care of that and proceeded to walk back to the cash register.

Within minutes she had rung up the sale … three boxes. When I told her we only wanted two boxes, she really didn’t like that, but decided to change it. I paid the bill and then John asked about where we would pick up the two boxes.

“Kellogg.”

Kellogg is one of the main streets in our city. I thought, I didn’t realize Penney’s had a warehouse on Kellogg. As I tried to visualize where on Kellogg, John asked again, “Where?”

“At Kellogg.”

It took several tries before we finally understood she was saying “catalog.” Now we knew we were to get our car, drive around to the door where the catalog department was and pick up our purchases there.

I still don’t care for shopping.

This was a life moment for me. I had an attitude problem. My thoughts: I really like Penney’s. Why would they hire someone like that? With all the people needing a job, I’m sure they could find someone nicer … who cared about helping us.

And just as quickly, I knew I needed to adjust my attitude. I have never walked in that sales lady’s shoes. She eventually did help us. I made the purchase I wanted.

What was my problem?

Life is like that. Our attitude is a moment by moment decision.