A Matter of Perception

It was 11:10am on Wednesday, and time for my hourly bathroom check at work to make sure all was tidy in the two sets of men’s and two sets of women’s bathrooms (on both the Grocery and General Merchandise sides of the store). As I was the only Greeter here during my shift, I did a quick look at the male bathroom facilities on the grocery-side proved acceptable.

 I knocked loudly on the women’s bathroom door to see if any female answered. There was silence. To be safe, I opened the door a bit to peek in. A woman was drying her hands at the blower. I quickly closed the door and stated I would be back. (As a Greeter, I despise the duty of checking the female bathrooms for this very horrible surprise element.) The other two sets of bathrooms on the G-M side looked perfect.

I arrived back at my greeter door (on the grocery-side) just in time for the male member of this couple (“Lester” and “Sadie”) to hear Lester angrily call me a pervert, and tell Sadie I wanted to see her naked.

 (I can assure you Sadie was not much of a catch, and I had no desire to see her unclothed.) A grown male employee exiting a female bathroom is an unpleasant, awkward event for the customer and associate involved

I wondered if I had heard correctly until “Louise” in customer serviced called me with this husband and wife complaint.  (I truly believe the couple was mentally challenged.) I’m not sure what Sadie told Lester.

Louise had been told I had walked in on Sadie though it was explained that it was my job to check the bathrooms hourly to make sure they meet the store’s standards. Louise agreed with everything I said as I told her my side of the story. If anything ever became of this, the security camera could reveal what really happened.

This story makes me giggle so much that I told it to several people.  (It would have made other employees fret, cry, or have a meltdown.) Many customers had lauded my customer service skills verbally to me. Hopefully, my event will bring about some kind of change in management about which greeters can clean each bathroom. (I’m doubtful.)

I was OK with having never receiving a positive written comment card. At this stage of my life, I knew what my employee value was to this store. I was never going to do anything to lose customers or decrease their profit line. God had assured me I was making a difference. What other accolades did I need in my life?

Maybe you have changed for the good a great deal from what you used to be in the past. There are those who will constantly remind you of what you used to be. You know the true person deep inside.

It’s impossible (and exhausting) to control what others think of you. Be your best. God will keep track of it all. (What’s you real motive?) Colossians 3:23 says, “In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people.” (NCV)