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Service and Self Pride
Mommy Musings
Teresa Hammond mug 3
Teresa Hammond

This thought has been plaguing my mind for a little bit now. 

Yet as I start to type this, I can’t help but be cautious on the way in which it’s delivered. It’s a thought which I’m stumped by each time I shop since the reopen of the world, from the Covid pandemic.

When did we lose the drive for customer service? This is a complex topic on many fronts. The issue which seems to stump me each and every time I grocery shop is the lack of concern for the customer as they navigate the rows of the market looking for their listed items.

I’m a morning shopper and it seems to be without fail each and every time I head to the store to pick up groceries my shopping is hindering the stocking of the shelves. 

Now, before anyone decides to educate me on the how’s and why’s of this dilemma I must say I feel equally badly for the employee stocking the shelves during prime business hours. We have found ourselves in a new day. A day in which it is hard for employers to find people who want to work. 

I’ve been told by several people that we’ll see a turn to this tide come September as the belt will be tightened and the good ol’ unemployment kitty won’t be kicking down as much cash. I wonder though how will this impact the jobs and service at essential jobsites, such as the grocery store?

I’m sure to some this seems minor, perhaps even petty, but here’s the thing - I miss the days when as a customer you didn’t feel as if you were inconveniencing or annoying someone by trying to reach a container of vegetable oil, cabbage or a gallon of milk. 

I miss the days of having a clerk stop what they were doing, not because you were in their way, but rather to help you with what you needed and then return to the task at hand. And don’t get me wrong, I also feel for these employees as they try and stock the shelves as quickly as possible so as not to be in our way. 

Quite simply and plainly put - it’s a messed up deal.

So, where does this lead us?

In truth I have no clue. Never in all my days did I envision a time when Americans would rather sit at home to collect a check, then go to a well-paying job and provide for their family.

Yes, I know, this is not all Americans and I appreciate that.

Case in point, when I was first placed on disability during my hardest treatment, I actually had a friend suggest I ask my employer to lay me off. Apparently I could have done better financially by not working at that time via unemployment versus disability. 

There’s one small problem with this plan, well, actually two. The first being the obvious, which is it’s dishonest - duh! The second, the one which boggles my mind just as much, is then what? If my employer laid me off, what would I do when I was ready to return to work (i.e. no longer in treatment). Where would I go and who the heck wants to start over after 20 years of a job you enjoy?

Perhaps therein lies the problem. Maybe there’s just a select handful of us whom like it or not take pride in earning an honest living and providing for our families. 

I’ve never been one to feel entitled to receive money from the government. Heck, I’m still trying to wrap my mind around all the stimulus money which randomly found its way periodically into my bank account over the past year. 

Where does it all end and for goodness sake, when or even will we get back to that America where the majority of us rose each morning and headed off to work?