Great Service in Down Economy

Have you noticed in many places you go these days- to eat, grocery shop, shop for clothes, etc., that you get great service? I had what I thought to be one of the best shopping experiences of my life this last week. I was at the grocery store and as I entered, I had someone greet me with samples. That is not uncommon, depending on when you grocery shop, but the girl was exceptionally pleasant, gave me lots of information and also let me know about the bread samples to be had by the bread aisle. As I continued my shopping, I went by the deli. I had taken a number, but although there were at least one or two people being served, another worker asked me what I would like and I had my deli turkey before I could blink. On to the meat section, where I decided to try my luck and ask at the butcher's case if I could get some smaller steaks. I usually get what is already packaged, but this time, the butcher said they would specially cut me some steaks to be ready a few minutes later on my way back from loading a few more items in my cart. My cart by this point was at least halfway full and I decided to fore-go the self-service lanes because I have so much stuff (that hasn't always stopped me- I'm a big fan & user of the self-service lanes). At the checkout, the bagger asked me if I found everything ok. I said yes, again pushed my luck by stopping at the customer service counter to ask them to stock a specific brand of gum I like, for which they happily took down the information, and then headed out the door with a smile on my face.

As I thought about this experience, I speculated that the reason that everyone is incredibly nice these days is that in the poor economy, businesses have to focus on keeping customers. I've felt similar responses at restaurants, while shopping for clothes or other items, bookstores and even fast food restaurants. I think the change is a welcome one, although I feel a bit like businesses should not wait until they are hurting for business to make a push to be friendly to the consumer. However, if the poor economy spurns a friendlier atmosphere all around, and those friendly experiences in turn put a smile on consumers faces, who then can be friendly to the next person, it may spawn a whole new era of kindness in our nation. Call me optimistic, but I like to see the good things that can come out of something that everyone thinks is so bad. And maybe we'll all be so used to being friendly that when the economy improves, we can all continue to spread happiness.