It’s beginning to look a lot like….the time to panic because you got snowed in over the weekend and have three days to finish your Christmas shopping.

Yep, I was out with the hordes yesterday, making a few last minute purchases. And, as always, all the salespeople were merry and bright.

No, really. Seriously. For the most part, they actually were.

Now, I don’t go into a store expecting that every encounter is going to be like my last shopping expedition to the Apple store. That Mecca, we all know by now, is home to one of the gold standards of customer service.

But much to my surprise, my venture into Verizon Wireless was pretty dang close to Applely goodness. I wanted to get a barebones basic phone for my mother-in-law, who really wants it just for emergencies. (She’s not into texting her peeps, y’know.) I was dreading the errand, because frankly, not all my mobile phone shopping experiences have been stellar.

This time, however, the whole thing was quick and painless. The salesman listened to what I wanted—and I mean really listened. He didn’t try to upsell me on anything I didn’t need, or talk me into a planet with more minutes. He listened, and gave me a heck of a great deal. So yay to Verizon.

Feeling emboldened, I headed into the mall to pick up a pizza stone for my brother-in-law. First stop, Crate and Barrel. After looking around a bit, I found a salesman and asked where I might find the item.

“We did have them but we’re sold out. We probably won’t have any in until after Christmas.”

“Gosh, that doesn’t help me a darn bit!” I said very perkily, knowing it wasn’t his fault.

“Didn’t think so! Sorry!” he replied with a smile.

So, I went to Sur La Table and grabbed the last of the thick sturdy (and pricier) stones, deciding against the thinner and cheaper version.

“Oh, these are the best pizza stones!” the clerk gushed as she rang up my purchase.

“Yes, we’ve had one like this ourselves for years. All the stores online just had the thinner ones,” I said.

“Those crack,” she nodded knowingly.

THEN WHY THE HECK DOES YOUR STORE SELL THEM???? I wanted to yell. But I didn’t. I just smiled and headed on my way.

Next was a quick stop at the See’s Candy stand for a few preschool teacher gifts. The two young clerks rang up my purchases without ever smiling or looking at me.

“Wonder how these taste?” said the girl clerk, pointing to a basket of See’s lollipops.

“Ugh. Probably nasty,” said the boy clerk.

Um, hello? Customer here. Customer who for all you know might have at the last minute thrown a box of lollipops into her basket. (BTW, I’ll jump in and defend See’s here. The pops are tasty.)

My last stop was in a seasonal arts and crafts store, called Sign of the Dove. The women working there couldn’t have been nicer, offering to hold my packages behind the counter while I shopped and providing lots of detail about the shop’s wares. I think many of the ladies were artists themselves, so they had a definite stake in making shoppers feel welcome and in a mood to buy.

To wrap up (heh, get it, holidays, gifts, “wrap up,” heh), remember, that customer you’re dealing with could have a much bigger platform than a blog. They could have a TV show. So be nice.

It’s beginning to look a lot like….the time to panic because you got snowed in over the weekend and have three days to finish your Christmas shopping.

Yep, I was out with the hordes yesterday, making a few last minute purchases. And, as always, all the salespeople were merry and bright.

No, really. Seriously. For the most part, they actually were.

Now, I don’t go into a store expecting that every encounter is going to be like my last shopping expedition to the Apple store. That Mecca, we all know by now, is home to one of the gold standards of customer service.

But much to my surprise, my venture into Verizon Wireless was pretty dang close to Applely goodness. I wanted to get a barebones basic phone for my mother-in-law, who really wants it just for emergencies. (She’s not into texting her peeps, y’know.) I was dreading the errand, because frankly, not all my mobile phone shopping experiences have been stellar.

This time, however, the whole thing was quick and painless. The salesman listened to what I wanted—and I mean really listened. He didn’t try to upsell me on anything I didn’t need, or talk me into a planet with more minutes. He listened, and gave me a heck of a great deal. So yay to Verizon.

Feeling emboldened, I headed into the mall to pick up a pizza stone for my brother-in-law. First stop, Crate and Barrel. After looking around a bit, I found a salesman and asked where I might find the item.

“We did have them but we’re sold out. We probably won’t have any in until after Christmas.”

“Gosh, that doesn’t help me a darn bit!” I said very perkily, knowing it wasn’t his fault.

“Didn’t think so! Sorry!” he replied with a smile.

So, I went to Sur La Table and grabbed the last of the thick sturdy (and pricier) stones, deciding against the thinner and cheaper version.

“Oh, these are the best pizza stones!” the clerk gushed as she rang up my purchase.

“Yes, we’ve had one like this ourselves for years. All the stores online just had the thinner ones,” I said.

“Those crack,” she nodded knowingly.

THEN WHY THE HECK DOES YOUR STORE SELL THEM???? I wanted to yell. But I didn’t. I just smiled and headed on my way.

Next was a quick stop at the See’s Candy stand for a few preschool teacher gifts. The two young clerks rang up my purchases without ever smiling or looking at me.

“Wonder how these taste?” said the girl clerk, pointing to a basket of See’s lollipops.

“Ugh. Probably nasty,” said the boy clerk.

Um, hello? Customer here. Customer who for all you know might have at the last minute thrown a box of lollipops into her basket. (BTW, I’ll jump in and defend See’s here. The pops are tasty.)

My last stop was in a seasonal arts and crafts store, called Sign of the Dove. The women working there couldn’t have been nicer, offering to hold my packages behind the counter while I shopped and providing lots of detail about the shop’s wares. I think many of the ladies were artists themselves, so they had a definite stake in making shoppers feel welcome and in a mood to buy.

To wrap up (heh, get it, holidays, gifts, “wrap up,” heh), remember, that customer you’re dealing with could have a much bigger platform than a blog. They could have a TV show. So be nice.