IMMACULATE SHELVES Organization at its finest

You never know what you’ll find at a small community grocery store.  My husband and I stopped into such on Tambourine Mountain in Queensland, Australia.  We only went in to buy one small item.  It was a delightful country store.  We were warmly welcomed by a young gal at the checkout counter; and I then walked down an aisle to locate what we wanted to purchase.

The aisles were compact, but as I approached the area I was looking for, I noticed a unique difference about this store.   Everything on the shelves was so neatly arranged.  Now that’s what you expect in a large grocery store; but this orderly display of products went well beyond what anyone would expect.

Every item was immaculately arranged on the shelves, with each label placed in the exact line of the products in front.  I could hardly believe my eyes.   It was as though the products were little soldiers reporting for grocery duty in their specified areas.   Even the packages of pasta were laying in perfect alignment as though decorative pillows on display.  

The only items that weren’t in perfect order were the pimentos cuddled in the olives; and I’m certain that if the red pimentos could have been arranged, the young lady would have had her hands rearranging the jar, directing each of those olives and putting them in place. 

My reflective observation turned into a verbal “Oh my, look at this, this is unbelievable.”  Soon the young lady who greeted us appeared at the end of the aisle that had astounded me with its order.  She inquired if everything was all right.   My response bubbled instantly into “It’s more than all right.”   I responded instantly bubbling over with the accolade “It’s more than all right.  I flooded her with so many affirming adjectives describing the precise arrangement of every stock item, that she blushed with embarrassment. 

As I surveyed the store, every aisle was a picture of precision.   I called out to my husband to come and have a look.   The young gal, blushing all the way to the front of the store, couldn’t get to her supervisor fast enough to talk about the crazy lady in the store who was fondling and admiring all the arrangements of products.   They both began to laugh, but I continued the grocery tour down almost every aisle.

You would have thought it was an exquisite shop for English bone china.  After the tour, we eventually began to exit toward the front of the shop.   I shared with her what a marvelous shopping experience and that I had never seen anything like it in the United States or Canada.

I then asked who was responsible for this orderly display throughout every aisle.  She admitted that this was her job and that she liked everything neat.   I repeated my compliments to her, and repeated my thoughts and observations to her supervisor.

At the end of our “grocery journey” she was all smiles from ear to ear and then made a startling comment to me.   This young lady shared that she had never had anyone compliment her work.  I was stunned!  Needless to say, my encouraging vocabulary made her day.   In fact I think it made her year.

I gave her a big hug on the way out and thought to myself, this can’t stop here.  I must write this gal a letter and see to it that the manager of the grocery receives a copy.    With cell phone in hand, I took a photo of the front of the grocery store to get the name so I could locate the address and phone number.  The following day I had one priority, and that was to write a well-deserved letter to affirm, encourage, and thank this lovely young lady who took pride in “stocking grocery shelves.”   I couldn’t think of enough superlatives to include in my letter.  I wanted this letter to be a “gift to her heart” and her grocery career.

For some reason I left my phone number at the end of the letter.  I never really thought about why I did that, but about three weeks later the phone rang and it was her.  She was still oozing with joy as a result of the letter, and couldn’t wait to tell me that her boss just couldn’t get over that someone would shower her with such affirmation about her attitude and enthusiasm for her work.

There’s a phrase in a book I hope never to forget, and it is this:

“One word or note brings more encouragement….than a

1,000 thoughts, never expressed!”

Oh the joy and encouragement a little note of appreciation can bring.  We just need to put the brakes on in our life, and pause long enough to share our thoughts in writing with the purpose of bringing encouragement and appreciation to others. 

Now, to whom are you thinking about writing a note to?