A recent trip to the supermarket reminded me of how small actions can potentially lead to significant changes.
Yesterday I bought three bunches of bananas at the local supermarket, which they had at half price. At that particular shop, you need to weigh fruits and vegetables before you take them to the counter, the old-fashioned way.
The lady in charge of weighing the products attempted to place all the bananas in a big plastic bag but I managed to ask her in time not to do it. I felt relieved. Then got distracted for a bit.
When I looked back at my bananas, I noticed she had placed three big stickers, one on each bunch. Damn, too late to do something about it.
Or was it too late? Well, I took the opportunity to tell the lady that placing stickers on each item or using a plastic bag by default with every customer was unnecessary. She replied, “I just follow orders”.
“I just follow orders”. It’s hard to find an answer to that or say something that could start shifting that type of policy in a different direction.
I did say something, though “How about you try to have a conversation with your manager and let her know that some of the customers are requesting not to use extra stickers or plastic bags on fresh fruit?”.
She didn’t reply back, and honestly, I don’t think she’ll do anything about it. But what would happen if more people, not all but some, asked the weighing lady, the barista, the person at the checkout counter, or the delivery guy, to report their feedback to their manager?
Would it make a difference? I believe it would. It is not their fault but they are responsible to some degree. And so are we.
These types of situations happen to everyone, everywhere, and almost every time. How often do we notice it and say nothing about it? Actually, how many times do managers or business owners ask their employees to communicate their customers’ feedback so they can serve them better?
One isolated act won’t create a big impact but we must keep trying. We don’t need everyone to make a difference. We just need some.