Monday, January 19, 2009

Have a nice day


Traveling this past weekend was such an eye opening experience. There were a few things that I noticed that I thought worth mentioning. As I was at the airport, I was buying a few things in the gift shop and the sales clerk said, "have a nice day" after we had exchanged some small pleasantries, and I looked her right in the eye and said, "you have a wonderful day too". She was shocked. She said that she hears "you too" and that sort of thing in all kinds of tones, but how often do we think of how we respond to others who are serving us. Make eye contact, be sincere, and think about their day...truly be sincere about what you're saying, and see what a difference it makes to them, and to you.
The other thing I thought about while traveling: I had purposely avoided watching the news story about the plane going down in the Hudson because I didn't want to know, the night before we flew out. Once at my destination, I listened to my wise mother talk about all the amazing things that this pilot did to save these people and the precision and forethought it took, not to mention bravery, to carry out all those tasks. I don't normally talk about current events on this blog, but this exceptional event of courage and heroism is worth talking about. My mother was talking about how much the flight attendants do need our attention when we're sitting in our seats "listening" to them. We also should take very seriously sitting in the exit row and when a verbal confirmation is asked for when sitting in the exit row, give it solemnly and understand that you may be partially responsible for helping your fellow passengers to exit the plane safely.

I believe this ties beautifully into etiquette because it's about others. When dealing with retailers it's about thinking about their day, not just yours. When we're talking about flight attendants and airline travel, it's about courtesy in listening and accepting responsibility. I saw one man last night on his phone while the instructions were being explained to him (no doubt he's well traveled) and he felt that sitting in an exit row wasn't a big deal and he didn't need to listen and didn't need to verbally commit to the flight attendant. She asked him to get off his phone (which he did after several minutes) and accepted his responsibility. I want people who care about others helping me off the plane, how about you. Take care of each other with bravery, selflessness, and kindness.

7 comments:

Manifestation said...

Thanks for sharing.I like the kindness ,timely act by he pilot indeed.Well the worse situations do exist besides how we deal with such situations do sound impact on our further growth in all aspects.Thank you and Wish all the people around the globe tremendous joy,peace and prosperity.

LOL:)
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Shalee- Be Speechless said...

I have to agree. I work in Food Services at Costco and when someone is sincere and considerate it makes my day so much better.
But sadly more often than not I get yelled at or made fun of for working with food.
Its as if some people think I am lower than them because I serve them.

Rochelle said...

Very good tips that in our hectic lives tend to slip right past us. Thank you for this good reminder!!

Woman Interrupted said...

I thought it was particularly classy that the pilot was the last one off the plane! He's the man you want in charge of making life/death decisions.

Janine said...

Woman interrupted- and i believe that we should strive to become that kind of person too.

Anonymous said...

All great reminders! I worked in the restaurant business for almost 10 years when I was younger and someone who thanked you with a sincere heart and kind look was one in a hundred. It does make a difference... people working in service industries have many rough days and a pleasant smile can make it so much better!

The Masked Mommy said...

You have such great tips for all of us! I have an award for you today on my blog. Drop by if you'd like to receive it!
http://themaskedmommy.blogspot.com/

 
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