I don't get out much

Last weekend, my wife and I had some time away. We stayed at a bed and breakfast on the Plaza, ate out, and shopped. It was a fun and refreshing weekend.

One thing we noticed was the lack of quality service at most of the stores in which we shopped. No smiles. No greeting. No expression at checkout.

Now admittedly, I don't get out much, so maybe this has become the norm. But back in the day when I frequented retail shops more often, I usually got friendlier service. Our innkeepers were excellent. Waiters and waitresses were great, but most of the retail service was lousy at best. Some of the people made no acknowledgement at all that we were present.

"So what is the point," you might ask. I reflected and prayed about this from a couple of angles that I wanted to pass on today.

How to respond to poor service:

Smile. Be kind. Be generous. Be gracious. Bring light into their day. You just never know what they are facing. (You could add many more things here)

How to give good service to others:

Smile. Be kind. Be generous. Be gracious. Bring light into their day. You just never know what they are facing. (You could add many more things here)

Yes, I'm aware the two answers are identical. No, it was not a copy-and-paste error. The two answers should be the same.

Treat others as you wish to be treated - no matter how they treat you and no matter the other circumstances you are facing. Wikipedia calls it the Ethic of Reciprocity. Others call it the Golden Rule. I call it the Word of God (see Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31). Jesus said, "This is a summary of all that is taught in the law and the prophets."

Join me in considering how you are treating others in your life this week.