I think that I am a pretty decent person. In general, I am kind to people and often smile and say hello to neighbours and people I see often, even if I don’t really know them. I always thank the bus driver for my transfer, and I give up my seat for people in need (when my knees are behaving themselves). I have even been known to hold open the door for people who have their hands full and to wish sales clerks a good day.
Yesterday I surprised a young girl who was in a rush when I let her go ahead of me in line at a store. And today I smiled and told a man not to worry when his truck blocked the sidewalk and I had to wait while be tried to back out onto a busy road. He seemed relieved that I wasn’t upset. These peoples’ reactions have got me wondering about what they normally experience. Is my simple kindness really that extraordinary?
As I was out and about today, I paid a little more attention to how people interact. I discovered that most sale clerks didn’t smile, people honked their horns if a car hesitated for more then a moment, and people walked all over the sidewalk directly in front of other people. It seemed like no one was giving a thought to anyone but themselves. Why is that? Are we all in such a rush that we don’t care about everyone else? It actually makes me very sad that my small kind acts got such big reactions. Such things should be so commonplace that the reaction should be a simple thank you and a smile.
quanta likes to remind me that not everyone is as nice as I am. He tells me not to let it get to me, but I can’t help it. I think this is part of the reason why I keep to myself, and why I am trying to avoid another job in retail. Maybe part of the reason that I am so good at retail is because I am kind and I do listen to the customer. Funny that.
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You know – sometimes slapping on the pasty “Customer Service” smile when you get poo thrown in your face in return too often is the cause of poor attitudes.
Also, people (myself included) are so caught up in their daily grind to think of anything other than what they have in front of them.
While I am always polite to a sales rep, or someone I accidently bump into on the street – I am a bit impatient when it comes to slow drivers – especially when they pull over in front of me in the fast lane and continue to go slow – that literally pisses me off.
I think people have forgotten how to be polite. There’s no “could you please…” or “thank you for…” or even sorry.
I try to make an effort to thank people, sometimes I forget but I think generally I’m a nice person.