There's quite a variance in levels of Customer Service around our city.
At the Whole Foods near Lewis' apartment on the Upper West Side, I had a magnificent grocery shopping experience! The greeter was courteous. The woman at the bakery let me pick the perfect/most-powdered sfogliatelle ("lobster tail" Italian pastry). She pulled the whole tray out to reach it for me.
The hunky fellow giving out samples of Coconut Water admired the healthy contents of my basket and gave compliments on the 2 novelty sodas that I had. Both were seasonally appropriate!
Jared, the cheesemonger, was extremely helpful in selecting a new bleu cheese (to delight Lewis), an English aged cheddar, and an aged goat's cheese. He proffered samples and offered to cut wedges of each to my desired width. The young man at the Hot Prepared Food counter scooped up delectable spaghetti-squash for me, as well as charred Brussels Sprouts and a slice of kale/prosciutto pizza. A fellow customer held the elevator for me, and while I meandered the less-exciting downstairs, all the shoppers were courteous.
Back upstairs, the barista at the coffee station swiftly concocted a chai latté! So delicious! Finally, I sauntered through the Ale Isle and carefully selected some organic hard ciders: wondrous autumnal mixtures.
The cashier was pleasant and sociable, chatting about what my day consisted of, making sure I found everything (Incidentally, it reminds me--and is worth noting here--that when you're on the Check-out line at Trader Joe's, they have people that go along the line, asking if anybody needs anything or forgot anything. And they'll go get whatever you need, while you're on line!).
Compare this with the two prior experiences in Chinatown:
1. At an eatery, Lewis and I were poured tea (customary) but also asked for water. The waitress replied, "You have tea. Drink tea!" Like it was gonna kill her to make another trip for water! Lewis cajoled another woman into begrudgingly giving us water.
2. At the cashier of Hong Kong Market, I paid and then asked for another plastic bag to "double-bag" my groceries. She snapped at me, "You have bag. Those are strong bags. You don't need another one!" Thankfully, Lewis--my knight in shiny armor--spoke to her in Mandarin and took more bags.
The cashier was pleasant and sociable, chatting about what my day consisted of, making sure I found everything (Incidentally, it reminds me--and is worth noting here--that when you're on the Check-out line at Trader Joe's, they have people that go along the line, asking if anybody needs anything or forgot anything. And they'll go get whatever you need, while you're on line!).
Compare this with the two prior experiences in Chinatown:
1. At an eatery, Lewis and I were poured tea (customary) but also asked for water. The waitress replied, "You have tea. Drink tea!" Like it was gonna kill her to make another trip for water! Lewis cajoled another woman into begrudgingly giving us water.
2. At the cashier of Hong Kong Market, I paid and then asked for another plastic bag to "double-bag" my groceries. She snapped at me, "You have bag. Those are strong bags. You don't need another one!" Thankfully, Lewis--my knight in shiny armor--spoke to her in Mandarin and took more bags.
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