How a Smile Got Me Back into the Spirit of the Holidays

I can, at times, be a little grumpy. (Yes, I hear the chorus of “No! Not you, Gary!”).

I was in a Kohl’s store doing my last little bit of Christmas shopping.  Upon realizing I needed to spend $10 more to use a $10-off-jewelry purchase coupon, I asked the cashier to suspend my transaction so I could find an item to bring my total above the threshold.

When I returned, a line had built up, but the clerk told me I didn’t have to wait in it again. She would take me as soon as she finished with her current customer.  Not so bad, I thought, until I saw this woman had half the store laid out on the counter, mostly picture frames of various sizes, some tchotchkes, and a few gift cards for other stores.

“This is all you?” I asked.

“Yes,” she replied, a bit sheepishly. 

I glanced back at the main line and figured whether I got in that line or waited at this register, it would be six of one, half-dozen of the other. So I waited where I stood, and waited.  I realized a grimace had taken over my face, my lips curled in for all they were worth.

Perhaps realizing her transaction was a lengthy one, and maybe even noticing my impatience, she turned to me as the cashier activated the last of the gift cards and apologized.

Of course, I smiled.  At first, it was simply a polite smile, a “no problem” smile.  It meant something to me that she thought to acknowledge my wait.  Then something unexpected happened. My smile remained, of its own volition, after she turned back to her transaction.  It even broadened.  I was in no hurry to lose it, in fact. The mere act of smiling made me feel better.  “We’re all dealing with the hassles of shopping in the last two days before Christmas,” I told myself.

The customer ahead of me went on her way, and the cashier now said she was sorry, as if she had anything to do with my wait.

“All you can do is smile,” I replied, with a bit of a chuckle.

Happy holidays to all my colleagues, readers, and the Linkedin community!

Gary Frisch is founder and president of Swordfish Communications, a full-service public relations agency in Laurel Springs, N.J.