It Pays To Be Nice

When I went to New York in early February, I was excited to see they had a Jamba Juice because I had been wanting to try it. However, the smoothie I had left me pretty disappointed. On their menu in that NYC location, it looked like every smoothie was 75% juice and/or sherbet and 25% actual fruit. I didn't want that. I wanted fruit. I wanted protein powder. I wanted good stuff.

In high school, we got Smoothie King all the time. During school. After school. After field hockey. After track. Their smoothies never let me down. The same location we frequented is 1/2 mile away from my apartment, AND...lucky me, there is a Smoothie King 1/2 mile away from my office! Yesterday evening, I stayed at work later than usual and decided to go to Smoothie King on my way home. I got the Grape Expectations II which has grape juice, strawberries, papaya, bananas, soy protein, turbinado, and honey. I got mine WITHOUT turbinado. Turbinado is sugar. The smoothie already has juice, fruit, and honey in it. Why does it need more sugar? It doesn't.

So this is where being nice comes into play. I've worked in retail. I've worked in restaurants. I currently work in a field that is similar to those in that we deal with customers. I've seen both sides of the table. Some people will go to restaurants or stores and treat the staff as if they were born specifically to wait on them and nothing else. It can get ugly. Therefore, because I know what kind of crap these folks deal with on a regular basis, I treat them nicely, and with a smile. Last night, the woman in front of me at Smoothie King was a Class A Bee with an Itch. She stormed out of Smoothie King, leaving me (the only customer) and the employees looking at each other with our eyes wide and our mouths agape. What did they do? They gave me her smoothie. For free. Just for being nice. It doesn't COST anything to be nice, but it can PAY a lot.

Smoothie King, you're still #1 in my book.