Sometime it is better to let a little wrong live…

Posted: December 16, 2024 | Categories: Customer service, Leadership, Self-Improvement, Team Building

Every Friday evening, my wife and I look forward to doing our weekly grocery shopping together.  Our kids are grown and on their own, and Friday evenings are an event.

Last Friday we were ready to go to the checkout lane, and we chose the self-checkout.  Joyce likes this option better because it is easier to follow along to make sure all the prices are correct.  The only problem was, this time we had a fully loaded grocery cart that was way over the limit for the self-checkout lane.  One of the regular checkers saw our cart and came over to say, “I have no line right now.  Would you like me to check you out?”  She was polite.  She could have interfered by saying we had too many items for the self-checkout, but she didn’t.  Joyce thanked her for the offer and gently declined.

When this happened, I found myself getting irritated:  It was embarrassing.  We should have accepted the offer of help and moved to the appropriate checkout lane.  I managed to stay calm, but no doubt Joyce could tell from my facial expression that I was upset.  I could feel some tension.  Then, I took a step back in my mind and gave it some thought:

Putting myself in Joyce’s shoes, I realized that she was doing what she has always done.  She knows how to get the most from our food dollar, and that is a lot of work these days!  We must clip coupons on each website, carry our smartphone and make sure we have selected the right item and in the right quantity.  Thanks to Joyce and her good planning, we have managed out finances well.

I told her of my concern, and quickly acknowledged that I understood she was just doing her work to get the most from our dollars.

Stephen Covey says:  “Seek first to understand”.  Let me add one more maxim:  “Sometimes it is better to let a little wrong live than a lot  of love die!”