Thank You For Your Service

Hi Readers,

Well this is something that doesn't happen too often, successive posts on successive days!

This morning while doing all my stretches etc I had the tv on and I was watching an episode of 'Shark Tank'

Various entrepreneurs (man, did I have to work on spelling that sucker!!) came and went, some getting deals done while others were quickly sent on their way.

One couple who came out explained their idea for whatever it was, and one of the 'Sharks' asked the bloke to explain his background. 

He then said "I was in the Navy......" and before he could finish his sentence, every shark immediately said "Thank you for your service" and gave a wave or gesture of respect and gratitude. And it looked sincere, not fake.

At this point I still can't remember what his product was, as their response to him having served in the defence forces was far more memorable.

I have seen this happen many times and heard similar accounts from others, and it has been on my mind all morning, hence this post. When I have something bubbling away I find that writing about it clarifies it for me and helps me to understand it better. Before I sat down with my laptop I took off on my motorbike for an hour, my place of peace so that I could churn things over in my mind and figure out how I was going to approach this post.

I have found that one thing that differs us from Americans is the pride and respect that we have in our armed forces, and the title of this post stems from the number of times I have seen and heard it being used whenever Americans encounter their service men and women.

Let me be VERY clear right now, I am not for a moment suggesting that Australians do not respect their armed service people, it's just that we do not really do it so publicly and with as much devotion as we see it being done by Americans. Please disagree with me if you want, but I can honestly say that I have never seen or heard another Australian say the same thing to our service people. We might feel it, but rarely do we say it publicly. There could be a multitude of reasons for this, but that's not my focus today.

So please don't think I'm saying that we have a lack of respect for them, complete opposite!!

I had a friend travelling overseas a few years ago who shared this account with me. 

A couple of servicemen in uniform boarded the plane and headed for their economy, or 'coach' seats as they are referred to in the USA. Immediately, a few people in the Business seats jumped up and beckoned to these servicemen to have their seats instead, all the while saying "Thank you for your service".

I have heard similar accounts of servicemen and women being given coffees or meals for free at establishments for the same reason.

So how can this apply to us?

I'm going to disregard service people now and turn the focus towards anyone that serves us, which is practically everyone we encounter.

Think of the number of people you come across in your day who provide a service of any sort, no matter how major or minor, and how you treated them.

I was in the bank the other day and there was a long line of people waiting to be served by one of the three tellers on duty. There was much grumbling and mumbling coming from quite a few of them, as they could see that although there were about 6 service counters, only three of them were open. I find it quite comical watching people doing this grumbling as they are looking for an audience to interact with them. 

The body language is a riot to watch at times.

A few years ago this would be me, until I heard a discussion on the radio that said that complaining about traffic is pointless, because you are part of the traffic. You are part of the problem, so complaining is pointless. The same applied to standing in this long queue. No point in complaining because I was contributing to the queue!!

A lady in front of me was 10 seconds away from exploding and as she was ranting to no -one in particular, we made eye contact. She was ready to take it to another level but I just smiled at her and said something like "I bet that teller is busting her arse to get this queue moving". She looked shocked at first, then calmed down and sort of agreed with me. She then said that she had a breathing problem and was having trouble standing for so long. There were chairs nearby and she said she wanted to sit down but didn't want to lose her spot in the queue, so I just told her to do it and that I'd save her spot in front of me. As soon as she moved away, I kept her gap open in front of me to show that it was there for her, but I could feel the people behind me shuffling forward and trying to push me further ahead. Also some more huffing and puffing, as if I'd doubled their wait time.

I was so surprised that some of them thought that saving a few minutes for themselves was more important than the health of this woman. After a few minutes she felt a bit better and rejoined the queue just as her 'spot' was next in line to be served. And getting stared down by others as if she was queue jumping!!

As she got to the teller she was much calmer, even smiling and was so respectful to the teller. If she hadn't had that period of rest I think that teller would have had their head bitten off!!

By the time I got to the teller she was a bit flustered, so I just said something like "Tough morning?" She said they were so understaffed and she was really feeling the pressure. When I asked if people were being rude to her she paused, looked at me and nodded slowly and rolled her eyes. It wasn't her fault that there was a long line of customers, she was smashing through them, so just by saying "Thank you for how you are managing this" and "I hope your day gets better" made me immediately forget about the time I'd spent waiting in the line, and hopefully made her feel a bit better too. 

If I chose to give her a serve when I got to the front of the line I wouldn't expect her to give me good service, and just by speaking calmly and kindly, she had me sorted in no time at all. I was thankful for her service👏

I pretty much bounced out of the bank and headed to my next appointment, this time at a computer shop where I needed to look at a device.

Readers, when it comes to technology I'm about as useful as a one-armed clown making balloon animals at a kid’s party!!!

I walked into the shop and was greeted by a young salesman ( everyone seems young to me these days!!) I basically told him I was interested in a new laptop, and then he bamboozled me with numbers and terms that I think I've heard before but completely forgot.

I feebly said something like "I just want to write my blog and have my photos, mail etc synced between my devices". And it needs to be sort of compact as I'll be travelling a bit.

To his credit, he gave a knowing nod, and if there was a thought bubble above his head it would have been saying something like "Oh dear, another techno nobody!!"

At the start he was probably thinking I was here...

But pretty soon I convinced him that I was here...

I'll have to admit that I was telling a few little white lies when I said things like "Wow, you are so helpful", and "Thanks for being so patient with me" and pretty soon his help level went through the roof. Rather than trying to get this older person who didn't know much out of the store, he was bending over backwards to ensure that I understood and which device he thought would be the best fit for purpose. And what pleased me most was that he wasn't pushy in chasing a sale (hope his bosses didn't notice) but was more concerned that I knew what I might be buying and what it could do, and what I understood about it. 

While I didn't purchase anything yesterday, the way that he treated me just from being kind and respectful to him means that when I do buy, I'll ask for him to do the sale.

Thanks Callum for your service👌

Readers, you must think that I'm an utter nuffy by going into shops and being as nice as I can when inside I may be feeling the opposite. My experience is that most times it calms me down, and usually it changes the attitude of the person serving me if they are having a crap day. Not always, but usually.

There have been times when the person serving has been really gruff and basically rude that I don't want to waste any kindness on them, but then I walk out angry too🤬

Even during those times when I know they are still rude when I leave, I just cling to that sliver of hope that a polite or cheerful 'Thank you, have a good day' might sit with hem and upon reflection they might be better to the next person, or to themselves.

Better to kill them with kindness than be like them I say.

Or another one I've read about

"Don't kill them with kindness. Kill them with blindness. Act like you don't see how they are acting'

I'm sure that you at times, just like me really don't want to be kind, and just want to give them some of their own medicine, but it's the sour after taste that I can't stand.

And when we think that our little problems are bigger than they really are, take one of these as needed!! (You might need to look at previous posts to see why I refer to these a lot!!)

Readers, these are just a few recent examples where I have been the beneficiary of great service just through the simple act of thanking others for their service. Sure, you could argue "That's their job", but to me it is disrespectful to not acknowledge someone else with respect if they have done something for you. I know we can all be quick to flip off an email to complain about poor service, and I get that that. I do it too, but also try to acknowledge that there might be reasons for it too that I might be unaware of.

In another recent post I spoke about a book that we read to our kids in Gr 5 last year and the year before, "Wonder".

A key theme in it is kindness, and this book has been a big reason why this resonates with me so strongly. It talks about the 'masks' we wear, meaning that we can't often tell how a person is really feeling just by how we read the look on their face.

So when you get the rude treatment by someone serving you, or dealing with someone on the phone, before diving in to get your pound of flesh, perhaps spend a dime and take a few steps down Kindness St with a positive comment, or something that might possibly distract them from whatever shitty thing that might be troubling them.

As I said earlier, it doesn't always work, or we don't give it a chance to work, but I find more often than not, it does.

This post all stems from just a random observation that I saw on tv this morning. I have seen how these 5 words, Thank You For Your Service, mean so much to a nation of people, but can also mean so much to each one of us as we go about our daily routines.

Give it a try, I'd love to hear how you go!

Until my next post,

Cheers😁