Kill them with kindness

 

 

"It is always nice to meet people who practice what they preach..."

Many (and I mean many) years ago I worked at Montgomery Wards part time while still in high school. My entry level job (making about $1.50/hour) was the stock boy in the paint department. I also worked on the dock when a truck would come in with more merchandise. It was a fine job, not too many hours, close to home, and dozens of other kids from high school working there.

One of the part-time salesmen in the paint department was a man called Tony. He was 100% Italian heritage, and his day job was operating a paint mixer at Valspar in Minneapolis. Whenever he got to work, as tired as he might have been, Tony would spend about 10 minutes in the washroom trying to get any residual paint off his hands. When he hit the sales floor, it was always "go time" with Tony. Always smiling, always happy, always helpful.

Working with the public however, has it puts and takes. Once in a while a customer would come in very agitated. Some would have had a couple cocktails under their belts and wanted to blow off some steam. Others (a favorite complaint) would say the "guaranteed one coat" paint did not cover in one coat. They wanted their money back. Many times Tony received those customers when they first hit the department.

Tony, the 100% Italian who grew up in a very tough neighborhood in North Minneapolis, NEVER lost his cool. He would take complaints, yelling, insults and occasionally swearing. Nine times out of ten when the customer left, the customer was no longer upset.

One day I asked Tony how and why he took that kind of abuse from some customers. His answer was quite simple. "We don't know the kind of day that person has had. Or if there were other circumstances which caused the anger. My job is to listen, and try to fix the problem if I can. But most of all, I try to kill that customer with kindness. That is a person just like us." And he did. Time after time. And most, almost all of the customers loved Tony and loved dealing with him.

Years after I left Montgomery Wards, I was out of the Navy and done with school. My professional job led me to have quite a bit of customer interface. I always remembered how Tony dealt with customers. As opportunities, as friends just waiting to be friends. Tony taught me quite a bit in my late teens and early twenties. I learned about how paint was made, how to correctly apply it on a variety of surfaces, and how to correctly clean oil based paint off of natural bristle brushes.

But most of all, I learned about people. How to treat people. How to never lose your cool, even when the fire is the hottest. I learned from Tony how to love people, even when they are the most unlovable. So Tony - thank you. Many of the lessons you taught me are still with me today. Yes Tony, I do still try to "kill people with kindness..."