It's Okay To Ask For Help

I can have a lot of patience and compassion for many situations. Where I have difficulty is when there appears to be a lack of organization and no one seems to care.

Yesterday we were in a store waiting to check out. There was one person at the cash register and four of us in line. The person being helped wasn't an easy transaction. Items were being put back, then she'd change her mind etc. I asked one of the two other clerks in the store if she would help at the cash. I was ignored.  While there was only one cash register she could have helped fold and bag.
When I reached the counter I commented that she could use some help with folding and bagging. She smiled. In reflection I wonder:

1. Does asking for help make us look incompetent?
2. Is customer service low on this store's list?
3. Am I to learn to endure and say nothing in these types of situations?
4. Where is the line between accepting what is and people being receptive to doing things better?

I know that the annoyance I experienced is in me. I know that what I experience is feedback to my creative process. Bob and I talked about expectations. We expect good service; we expect our car to start; we expect to hear a good talk at church etc. Is it our expectations that are the problem? Surely some are reasonable.

In this case a store can lose customers, which reduces their profit which may lead to its closing and people losing jobs. So speaking up for better organization can be a good thing.

I think the lesson here is, "Are we willing to be coach-able?" When you are given constructive feedback to the way you do things, are you coach-able? So today's mantra, should you choose to accept it.... I am willing to be coached by whomever I am with.


Pic.. This magnificent monument in Rome was built by people who learned to work together.