Diamonds on the soles of their shoes

I think that tonight i came up with a juicy strategy for staying in a centered, present moment state at work.

I was telling a friend how much I want - starting with tomorrow morning's shift - to find that flowing, peaceful state while I'm running the cash register. I knew what it looks like to be in that state, but at first had no clue as to how more to get there. Then out of nowhere a method presented itself: "I want to like them." Yep, I want to practice - as much as possible - liking each person as they come through my line. This focus outside of me can, I think (we'll see), pull me out of my self-preoccupation and get me to show up in the moment.

Then my friend made a suggestion that made this strategy more concrete and tangible and specific - that I think will make it easier to operationalize. She suggested I see my customers as having diamonds on them. Appreciating and liking them can be like harvesting the diamonds that they are wearing from the soles of their shoes to the top of their heads.

I can hardly wait to try this tomorrow.

The zen of cash register

I've been cashiering in this Whole Foods grocery store for about three weeks and am just now getting comfortable enough with the idiosyncrasies of this particular cash register system - and remembering just enough of the four- and five-digit codes for coffee, hot bar, muffins, bananas, etc. - to start to relax a bit and to have some attention free to focus on the people coming through my line.

Sunday and Monday I was in a good mood when I arrived and then really mostly had a good time. I was able to manage the cash register and really show up for my customers. I got into a flow - even a kind of zone - where each transaction in these very busy shifts stood on its own, with no carryover from the previous one nor anxiety regarding the people waiting in the line. This made it easy and fun.

Tuesday I was not in a good mood when I arrived. I was still aggravated from an upsetting encounter with my roommate the night before. I was enough preoccupied with this unfinished business to not be able to drop into that peaceful zone with my customers. In this off-center state, everything was difficult: running the cash register was hard and dealing with the customers was flat and awkward. And then I judged myself harshly for "not doing a good job" - and this just made everything harder.

I realized near the end of my shift that in my aggravation with my roommate - my conviction that she had screwed up and was a jerk for doing so - I had taken up residence in a world where things go wrong, and especially where people can be wrong. Inhabiting that world, I saw things going wrong at work - and especially saw myself as wrong. As I closed up my register, I was convinced that my drawer would not balance and that I would lose points over it. Seeing this reaction really nailed it for me: "Yup, I'm in the world where things go wrong and where you get in trouble for being wrong."

I'm grateful for seeing this so clearly - and for having a job that right now seems to provide clear and immediate feedback about my internal state. When I am centered in the moment, it's fun and easy; when I am off-center, preoccupied, not in the moment it all gets hard and stressful. Now to find ways to move into that more centered, here-and-now state.

"Watch me work!"

The woman in the Earthfare deli had no problem with me taking her photo. But she said, "Don't just take our pictures - buy something from us so we can show you the kind of customer service we really can provide."

More fun

One sign that a team is really clicking is how much fun they are having.

In one retail job at a large gift shop, there were as many as five of us at a time working next to each other in one long bank of cash registers. One of the real challenges was how much you could mess with your neighbor's work station when they momentarily stepped away (or, even more challenging, when their heads were turned): steal their pen, toss a wadded up piece of paper into their work area, hide their phone behind the cash register - it got harder and harder to stay creatively messy, but we worked at it.

Our cash registers were actually fairly sophisticated computers. One day i returned from my break to find my mouse so wrapped up in bubble wrap and scotch tape that it took about three minutes to extricate it - and, when i got a couple of customers as soon as i came back on, i had to try to make the mouse work while it was still in its little nest. My coworkers watched the whole show and only barely managed to hide their delight.

One day i was playing trick after trick on Peggy, who worked the sales floor. After one especially creative little tease, as she walked by my register i just beamed with how pleased i was with myself. She turned to me with a look that was equal parts fun and menace as she said, "It's not over yet." It was one of the funniest and sassiest and coolest things i have ever heard a co-worker say.

Internal customers

Good supervisors and managers know that the folks they supervise or manage are also their customers. These front-line folks also need to be served - with information, support, guidance and (perhaps most important) acknowledgement.

When i worked one holiday season as a "retail sales associate" (shop clerk) in a large gift shop at the Biltmore Estate (Asheville's largest tourist attraction), the supervisors and managers in the retail departement seemed to understand this. They treated the front-line folks like gold. And it worked: it was then easy and natural for us to treat each other well - and to treat our customers like they were gold.

Being acknowledged

Business was slow at the pet supply store and Melanie looked like the hours were weighing on her. But a little attention from a guy with a customer service business card and a camera brought her back to life.



I really like the store where she works, but i wonder how much cheerleading she has gotten recently from her supervisors. When i treated her like she was interesting and valuable, she responded as if that was exactly what she was needing that afternoon.