Just a quick post, just because I had a kinda interesting experience today. I usually leave those to my sister, who works in an ER, has been to two different countries (Taiwan and Bolivia) and tends to create interesting experiences wherever she goes anyways, but I guess today it was my turn.
I was just walking through Walmart, just there to grab a couple things real quick and head on to other errands, when suddenly the electricity went out. You could hear a collective gasp all through the store! Kind of funny, really. The lights flickered back on for a moment then went out again. It was not totally dark in the store, thanks to the skylights, but it got eerily quiet for a few seconds before conversations resumed, children started crying, and people went back to gathering whatever it was they were there to get. I guess we all figured the electricity would be back on any minute.
Fifteen minutes later, there were long lines at the checkouts (where, of course, they couldn't check anyone out) and people were already leaving in droves, abandoning a LOT of baskets for the poor Walmart employees to have to deal with. The *lucky* customer service people started walking through to tell people that they had no idea how long the electricity would be out, all they knew was that a transformer was out somewhere. :P They were really sweet and told everyone they could just leave their baskets if they didn't want to wait. I still feel sorry for them, having to go through and put all that stuff back! Normally I wouldn't have been in a hurry and would have hung around a while, but I still had other errands to run and people at home waiting for me to get back, so I had to go.
Now, the Midland Walmart is a crazy place at any time, but getting out of the parking lot today was quite the experience! There were lines of cars waiting to turn out of the parking lot. And apparently, the electricity problem was not confined to Walmart; the traffic lights were also out, adding to the general confusion. Thank God for policemen! :D They were directing the traffic, and doing a great job of it, but it still required a little more patience than usual getting back onto the loop. A bit later, en route to the next place I had to go, I passed Walmart again and the parking lot was almost EMPTY--that never happens here in Midland! Chick-fil-A, which is right next to Walmart, was also closed down due to lack of electricity.
I don't know how long it was out, but when I drove back by nearly two hours later, everything was back to normal.
One thing that impressed me throughout all of this was how nice everyone was being. I didn't hear anybody getting real upset or griping at the people who couldn't do anything about it anyway or anything like that. Those who didn't have time to wait simply and quietly left. And the employees stepped up to the plate with patience and diligence, tackling the colossal task of putting all those baskets of stuff back and politely passing on what information they had to the clueless customers. What great attitudes! :D
I was challenged--the next time things don't go my way, how will I respond? I hope with the same patience, understanding, and general good will I saw today, with a Christ-like smile on my face! :D
I was just walking through Walmart, just there to grab a couple things real quick and head on to other errands, when suddenly the electricity went out. You could hear a collective gasp all through the store! Kind of funny, really. The lights flickered back on for a moment then went out again. It was not totally dark in the store, thanks to the skylights, but it got eerily quiet for a few seconds before conversations resumed, children started crying, and people went back to gathering whatever it was they were there to get. I guess we all figured the electricity would be back on any minute.
Fifteen minutes later, there were long lines at the checkouts (where, of course, they couldn't check anyone out) and people were already leaving in droves, abandoning a LOT of baskets for the poor Walmart employees to have to deal with. The *lucky* customer service people started walking through to tell people that they had no idea how long the electricity would be out, all they knew was that a transformer was out somewhere. :P They were really sweet and told everyone they could just leave their baskets if they didn't want to wait. I still feel sorry for them, having to go through and put all that stuff back! Normally I wouldn't have been in a hurry and would have hung around a while, but I still had other errands to run and people at home waiting for me to get back, so I had to go.
Now, the Midland Walmart is a crazy place at any time, but getting out of the parking lot today was quite the experience! There were lines of cars waiting to turn out of the parking lot. And apparently, the electricity problem was not confined to Walmart; the traffic lights were also out, adding to the general confusion. Thank God for policemen! :D They were directing the traffic, and doing a great job of it, but it still required a little more patience than usual getting back onto the loop. A bit later, en route to the next place I had to go, I passed Walmart again and the parking lot was almost EMPTY--that never happens here in Midland! Chick-fil-A, which is right next to Walmart, was also closed down due to lack of electricity.
I don't know how long it was out, but when I drove back by nearly two hours later, everything was back to normal.
One thing that impressed me throughout all of this was how nice everyone was being. I didn't hear anybody getting real upset or griping at the people who couldn't do anything about it anyway or anything like that. Those who didn't have time to wait simply and quietly left. And the employees stepped up to the plate with patience and diligence, tackling the colossal task of putting all those baskets of stuff back and politely passing on what information they had to the clueless customers. What great attitudes! :D
I was challenged--the next time things don't go my way, how will I respond? I hope with the same patience, understanding, and general good will I saw today, with a Christ-like smile on my face! :D
Comments
And you know me..."quick" means Jude-length as opposed to 1 John! :D