I have been nudged to write a piece. Understandably, writer’s block stood in my way and hence this short episode.
I wish to share a recent experience where courtesy brings on a happy day for me. Over lunch time, I dashed over to NTUC hyper-mart at AMK hub to buy a head-band. Some days back, I carelessly dropped a new piece at Labrador park in my regular Sunday ride.
My older piece lasted over 2 years and it was daft to lose a brand new piece only after one use. It’s white, under $10.00.
I headed to the exact row and shelf for this head-band. I picked this up and proceeded to pay. A few counters were ‘out-of-action’ over change of cashiers. I went to the counter with 2 customers, one already in the midst of transactions and the other with a huge basket of goods.
I put on a broad smile, looked at the elderly lady in front, and asked if I could ‘jump queue’ to pay, showing her the item in my hand. She readily allowed me to pass through. One down and one more to go.
Now I am behind an elderly couple. The cashier was busy ‘swiping barcodes’, punching numbers of item after item. The elderly man, seeing my item in hand, signalled me to interrupt the cashier to service me ahead of himself.
The cashier, a grouchy looking lady with a rather constipated look, said it cannot be done. I know even the dumbest POS has this hold feature to allow servicing another customer. She suggested I may want to move to the ‘special express lane’, miles to her right.
I said I wait. The elderly man asked how much was my item. I replied $6.90. Then he said: “why don’t you scan it through (adding to his shopping) and you pay me the amount”. Brilliant! I gave him $7.00 and he returned 10 cents promptly.
In all, I must have saved 15 minutes instead of twiddling my thumbs and listening to my stomach growl. I always believe a big smile can bring out the best of people.
