For Christmas, Kiana received a gift card from a local clothing store at the Outlet Mall. The store is a hip, young-person’s venue – the clothes are vibrant and fresh, the clerks are all tattooed and pierced, and the music is loud. So – on the day after Christmas, we had to take a trip to the Outlet Mall. Yes, along with seemingly every other yay-hoo on the planet, we wended our way through the traffic and lines of bargain-seekers, and went to the store.
We found what she wanted, a hoodie with some character, and we went up to the counter to pay out. The clerk was less-than-attentive, and rang us up with little fanfare. Kiana said “thank you” at the end of the transaction – the clerk said nothing. I looked him in the eye, and said “thank you” very slowly – he got the message, but it was clear there was no lesson to be learned, and equally clear this job was but a layover on his much more grandiose life plan. The kids and I talked about life choices on the way out of the store.
Later that evening, Kiana was eager to wear her new jacket to meet up with some friends in town. As she was putting on the jacket, she noticed the anti-theft tag still on the jacket. Disappointed, we agreed to go back to San Marcos before the Winter break was over. The silver lining was our subsequent conversation about service, the effort you put into your job, and the impact it has on others.
We went back to the store today and received an equally-chilly reception and service event – as expected – but we got the tag off the jacket, and Kiana wore it out, happily. Funny – she wasn’t interested in looking around the store, and sticking around to do any more shopping there… In all, a good day.
I’m proud and happy to be in a position to serve the City I’ve come to know and love over the past few years. I look forward to working with my new colleagues, and will bring to this appointment all the effort, attention, and seriousness it deserves – and I hope to have some fun in the process!
