Tuesdays. Always an interesting day of the week. Usually most team members are in to work. Busy with a team meet and wrapping up the activites of the weekend. Often a few orders to check-in making sure that all parts are allocated correctly and display stock refilled and tidied up. Oh, and then there are the phonecalls with suppliers about warranties, invoices, etc or with customers to confirm (or otherwise) that items ordered over the weekend are definitely in the warehouses.
All nice and well however the most inspiring bit of a busy day is the interaction with customers. Having worked with customers face to face, well, over 60 years, is what you take home for inspiration. I remember the days with my dad on the Belgian markets with fresh fish; a Dutchman selling to the people of Belgium. Not for the fainthearted however he made it work with blood, sweat, and tears as well as healthy dose of humour and faith. I recall him handing over a couple of kilo fish and saying to the lady of the couple “ aha madam I see you brought your donkey with you”.
Anyway back to this Tuesday and the simple story of two men. The first man wanted four bikelocks (no. not fourcandles!) and we thought we had the particular item in the correct quantity for the “big man” however when he arrived there was only one in stock. We apologized for the error but even the one lock at a reduced price was responded to with “thanks for wasting my time”. That same afternoon another gentleman arrived. He was looking for an electric bike. For exercise he needed something else than walking, which fell him hard. Together we discussed how he wanted to use the bike, distances to go, what terrain and frequency of use. This would be a significant purchase for him and I would make sure he had the correct ebike. Then he whispered he had cancer and was expecting some further news this week. He left despite his illness with a grateful anticipating attitude..
All on one “ordinary” Tuesday, normally the toughest day of the week for me.
But there is a third man in this story; Yesterday I attended a service of remembrance for a 95 year old friend who passed away recently: Jim Henderson was a true gentleman and a hero of the Christian faith. I can't remember how often he used to say to me “we will pray for that”.
So what should we take away from this blog - learn something everyday and ask yourself what kind of person would I like to be?