I think so often we concentrate on those people who annoy us-- the guy who cut us off in traffic, the rude salesmen-- we forget to recognize excellence when we find it. This is a letter I wrote this morning, which I'm going to send to the manager of my local Vons.
Dear Vons Manager:
There’s a bagger at your store by the name of Jenny. She’s fairly short, looks Asian, and has straight black hair cut just above her shoulders. This might seem like an odd thing to do, but I’m writing to you because I wanted her employer to know how fantastic she is. I don’t know her from Adam, but I do my grocery shopping at Vons every week, and I always go to the check stand she’s bagging for.
Most of the time I wouldn’t give a second thought to the person bagging my groceries, unless they were really slow and annoyed me. Jenny is always very quick, but the thing that made me notice her was the fact that it takes me half the time it usually does to put away my groceries when I get home. I don’t know how she manages to do this in the minute or two my groceries are in front of her, but she organizes my entire cart by bag. She puts all the freezer items in one bag, all of the produce in another, all of the boxed items in another. All I have to do when I get home is open one bag and stick everything in one spot in my kitchen. With anyone else, I have to pull everything out and sort it myself when I get it home.
Not only that, but she is always very conservative with the plastic bags. With other checkers I often find myself wondering why that bottle of soap needed to be in a plastic bag all by itself, or why only two or three items got in this bag. I usually have a pile of extra plastic bags in my cupboard. Not since Jenny. She puts just the right amount in each bag, and doesn’t waste them. This is great for my clean kitchen and it’s also great for the environment.
Finally, Jenny is always wonderfully polite and cheerful. I’m used to being ignored by checkers and baggers alike, but Jenny always makes a point to say hello and to wish me a good day. It really just brightens up my morning.
You know, most people would treat a job as a grocery bagger as just that—a simple job that doesn’t require much attention or care. Usually it goes to surly teenagers who can’t get jobs anywhere else. It’s rare and refreshing to see someone who takes pleasure in doing even the simplest job well, and doing it right. Jenny is this kind of person, and she deserves recognition. I hope you give her the appreciation she deserves!
Dear Vons Manager:
There’s a bagger at your store by the name of Jenny. She’s fairly short, looks Asian, and has straight black hair cut just above her shoulders. This might seem like an odd thing to do, but I’m writing to you because I wanted her employer to know how fantastic she is. I don’t know her from Adam, but I do my grocery shopping at Vons every week, and I always go to the check stand she’s bagging for.
Most of the time I wouldn’t give a second thought to the person bagging my groceries, unless they were really slow and annoyed me. Jenny is always very quick, but the thing that made me notice her was the fact that it takes me half the time it usually does to put away my groceries when I get home. I don’t know how she manages to do this in the minute or two my groceries are in front of her, but she organizes my entire cart by bag. She puts all the freezer items in one bag, all of the produce in another, all of the boxed items in another. All I have to do when I get home is open one bag and stick everything in one spot in my kitchen. With anyone else, I have to pull everything out and sort it myself when I get it home.
Not only that, but she is always very conservative with the plastic bags. With other checkers I often find myself wondering why that bottle of soap needed to be in a plastic bag all by itself, or why only two or three items got in this bag. I usually have a pile of extra plastic bags in my cupboard. Not since Jenny. She puts just the right amount in each bag, and doesn’t waste them. This is great for my clean kitchen and it’s also great for the environment.
Finally, Jenny is always wonderfully polite and cheerful. I’m used to being ignored by checkers and baggers alike, but Jenny always makes a point to say hello and to wish me a good day. It really just brightens up my morning.
You know, most people would treat a job as a grocery bagger as just that—a simple job that doesn’t require much attention or care. Usually it goes to surly teenagers who can’t get jobs anywhere else. It’s rare and refreshing to see someone who takes pleasure in doing even the simplest job well, and doing it right. Jenny is this kind of person, and she deserves recognition. I hope you give her the appreciation she deserves!