Let this be a lesson to all you foot-tapping, line hating, obsessively watch-checking Impatient Ians out there (or Impatient Irenes, I guess I should hold off on the sexist language- wouldn't want to offend the feminists. On that note, I probably have to include more ethnically diverse names like Inez... it is so hard to be politically correct these days). Being in no hurry whatsoever makes life a whole lot nicer. Because anecdote-sharing is what I do to convey a point, I will use a recent trip to my beloved Target to explain to you all, Aesop-fable style, why patience truly is a virtue.
Around noon, while en route to lunch with my parents, I popped into the Target pharmacy and dropped off a prescription that they informed me would be ready in an hour, at 1 (in case you all didn't know that an hour after noon was 1... okay fine, 13:00 military time). He apologized for the abnormally long wait time and I flashed an understanding smile and told him it was fine and I'd be back after lunch (as if he were one iota interested in my post-prescription drop off plans). Anyway, lunch happened, but I need not go into details about the meal as the events that occurred at the restaurant have absolutely no relation to the main purpose of the story.
When I returned to Target, the pharmacists' expressions coupled with the length of the line rivaling those at Disneyland rides indicated that they were running a bit behind. My patient personality along with being in no rush whatsoever made this no big deal for me. When my turn finally arrived, the pharmacist informed me, as I expected she would, that things were taking a bit longer than normal. Her expression then distorted into one that indicated she was bracing herself for yet another angry reaction, but I just shrugged and told her I'd come back. By the time I returned a few minutes later, they still needed more time, and I must have still appeared intimidating despite my extremely passive former reactions because the pharmacist took me aside, apologized as though she had just backed over my pet cat with her Hummer, and handed me multiple coupons for $3 off my next purchase. In all honesty, they probably should have saved this monetary method of begging for forgiveness for one of the many irate customers behind me, but hey, I'll take it!
So I just scored the equivalent of a gift card to my favorite store, and it doesn't end there. When they thought they finally had my prescriptions ready, it turned out that they overlooked one that my doctor had faxed in, so Heaven forbid, I had to wait a whole five minutes more. No big deal for me, but they still had this idea that my patience was about to reach the breaking point. Therefore, they waived my medication co-pays. Awesome.
Around noon, while en route to lunch with my parents, I popped into the Target pharmacy and dropped off a prescription that they informed me would be ready in an hour, at 1 (in case you all didn't know that an hour after noon was 1... okay fine, 13:00 military time). He apologized for the abnormally long wait time and I flashed an understanding smile and told him it was fine and I'd be back after lunch (as if he were one iota interested in my post-prescription drop off plans). Anyway, lunch happened, but I need not go into details about the meal as the events that occurred at the restaurant have absolutely no relation to the main purpose of the story.
When I returned to Target, the pharmacists' expressions coupled with the length of the line rivaling those at Disneyland rides indicated that they were running a bit behind. My patient personality along with being in no rush whatsoever made this no big deal for me. When my turn finally arrived, the pharmacist informed me, as I expected she would, that things were taking a bit longer than normal. Her expression then distorted into one that indicated she was bracing herself for yet another angry reaction, but I just shrugged and told her I'd come back. By the time I returned a few minutes later, they still needed more time, and I must have still appeared intimidating despite my extremely passive former reactions because the pharmacist took me aside, apologized as though she had just backed over my pet cat with her Hummer, and handed me multiple coupons for $3 off my next purchase. In all honesty, they probably should have saved this monetary method of begging for forgiveness for one of the many irate customers behind me, but hey, I'll take it!
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| Ummmm it'll be about five more minutes!?!? |
So I just scored the equivalent of a gift card to my favorite store, and it doesn't end there. When they thought they finally had my prescriptions ready, it turned out that they overlooked one that my doctor had faxed in, so Heaven forbid, I had to wait a whole five minutes more. No big deal for me, but they still had this idea that my patience was about to reach the breaking point. Therefore, they waived my medication co-pays. Awesome.
Marisa,
ReplyDeleteWow, patience does pay off, not just with money (though that is OK, too)!
You also had your time under control and that was a big part of it, no?
Your is a good example to keep in mind.
-Rick