UNITED STATES—Oh America, nowadays we are a nation where everyone wants everything quick, fast and in a hurry. I’m guilty of it. I mean just the other day I was at a brick and mortar to pay my charge card and I was fuming mad because of the extensive wait in the line. I used to have so much patience, but I fear I’ve turned into an individual who has very little patience, and I simply don’t understand why. I’m starting to think it’s because I’ve gotten older, but I don’t necessarily think that is the case. My initial gut reaction is telling me it’s because some people are inconsiderate of other people’s time.
Now let’s be crystal clear this not only in relation to retail establishments this is in relation to all factors in life in general if you ask me. Rather it’s driving your car behind someone who has no idea of the importance of doing the speed limit, or rather it’s going to your local bank branch to deposit or retrieve money. It could also be waiting in the line at the post office to mail off a package.
Let me give you an example, I tend to go to the bank at least ONCE a week to deposit funds (in most situations, I do my best to halt withdrawing funds unless I absolutely have to do so). The bank that I go to is close to my residence, but the service has been so slow, I can’t even fathom things at times. It’s all about technology right now; I mean the branch has even installed this nifty device so that patrons don’t have to wait in line for a teller. Guys, if I wanted to deal with a computer, I would have never come to the bank to begin with!
Banks need to be more aware of this; I hate waiting in a super long line, where there are tons of people in the back just moving around as if nothing is going on. You have a crowd of people waiting for assistance, it would be only smart to do what you can to alleviate the wait and take care of the customers to have a continuous flow of traffic and no halt. This doesn’t apply just to the banks though people, because it seems EVERYWHERE I go I see the same thing over and over again.
The customer no longer matters, businesses have a very small percentage of care for those who keep them in business. As Americans, we’ve reached that point where we just deal with things without letting our voices be heard. Change does not happen, by just sitting back and hoping something will transpire, you actually have to take steps to help things move along people. That gas station that makes a customer wait and wait to pay for gas, maybe it’s time to head to another gas station.
That bank that doesn’t seem to fully embrace its customers like they should, there are plenty of other banks out there. Retailers and grocery chains that can care less if you’re waiting for 30-40 minutes to purchase a simple item? Well there are plenty of other stores out there who will gladly take your money and appreciate delivering some top-notch quality service.
One thing I’d like to point out is not being an a** because you can! I don’t believe that notion that the customer is always right, because let’s be frank, there are plenty of occasions where the customer is dead wrong and they know it. For those of you working in retail don’t fret about it, keep your cool, but be aware what goes around comes around. That rude customer will have a bad day and trust me it’ll be far worse than yours they simply have no clue what that bad day will entail.
We have to take a bit of time breath before we lose our marbles. Patience is something that is not easy to develop, but in life it’s a quality that we all have to embody to some degree, rather we like it or not.
