If there is anything I’ve learned since joining the workforce, it’s that while the customer is certainly not always right, their concerns are always important.

Anyone who has ever worked any type of job that requires customer service can probably understand the sense of dread that comes when a person storms into your office, or a caller demands an explanation for why a mistake happened.

During my greenhouse days at Shelton’s, I dealt with these customers pretty regularly. Take people frustrated by their lack of green thumbs and add the crankiness that comes with being stuck inside a 90-degree enclosure, and you get some hot tempers. (See what I did there?)

As a young adult eager to please, I remember being easily offended and taking a lot of these confrontations personally in my early days.

One time in my first several weeks at the greenhouse, an older gentleman clearly (and rightfully) frustrated when what were labeled as tomato plants actually bore ghost peppers, stormed into the greenhouse screaming (literally, unfortunately).

I couldn’t tell you what I said to the gentleman or how we handled the situation, but I do remember I didn’t handle it well, and even more so, I remember the pep talk I got from Jimbo Shelton later.

“Chin up, kid. You’ve got to get some thicker skin,” he told me. And when that didn’t do the trick, he physically lifted my chin and said, “girl, tell me something. Did you learn something from this?”

Afraid that my response — “the difference between a tomato and a ghost pepper” — would make me seem like a smart alec, I opted for a shrug.

“Tempers don’t grow tomatoes!” he said, and we shared a laugh.

I think about that conversation often when dealing with people personally and professionally, not in that I think angry customers don’t deserve attention, but because that conversation taught me to control my own temper when responding to angry people.

Maybe my time in customer service has made me empathize with other people in the workforce, but I’m that person who gives a bigger tip to the cranky waitress, not because I realize she isn’t getting any tips tonight, but because I figure some grump or another has given her a hard time and put her in a funk. I’ve always felt terrible for servers who get yelled at when the food — which they obviously didn’t cook — isn’t up to par.

When a sales clerk has a bad attitude, I make a point of smiling a big cheesy grin and telling them to have a great day. I try to give them the benefit of the doubt. Maybe someone has extinguished the pep in their step.

In the very quick-paced world of news, we work diligently to prevent these mistakes, but every now and then, they slip through. I assure you, though, whenever they do, plenty of our readers let us know it. And you know what? That’s great. I want to know and we certainly want to correct our mistakes as quickly as possible.

I thought I’d take a moment as summer approaches and I remember those cranky customers in the greenhouse to remind everyone that you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.

When your steak is undercooked, of course you should send it back for a couple extra minutes on the grill, but there’s no reason to bark at the waitress. When your bill isn’t calculating right at the cash register, of course you should ask the cashier for a price check.

Just remember, tempers don’t grow tomatoes.

 

Ambrosia Neldon is the managing editor at Leader Publications. She can be reached by phone at (269) 687-7713, or by email at ambrosia.neldon@leaderpub.com