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Must be pretty important, right?
Working in customer service (retail), I know the importance of smiles-- both giving and receiving. I try to greet each customer with a genuine smile (certainly not a 100% success rate). And I've witnessed first hand the tone of "How may I help you" change to a customer who walks through the door with a frown. My co-worker has been known to grumble, "This looks like fun!" when he sees someone walk in looking pissy.
But, do workers have a right to be grumpy?
According to a New York Times article early this year, maybe they do.
Trader Joe's has gained popularity among grocery shoppers in large part by having relentlessly sunny employees, but now that the firm has expanded from mellower California to more brusque New York City, it is learning that cheerfulness is harder to find. The company fired Thomas Nagle recently because, though he said he frequently smiled, he was told his smile was insufficiently "genuine," and, backed by several colleagues, he has filed an unfair labor practice charge (and union organizers have taken notice). The National Labor Relations Board has already ruled (against another employer) that workers cannot be forced to convey that all-important "positive work environment" because they are entitled to have grievances.
I'll admit, for me smiling is not easy. But, today I'll try to see the miracle in life.
Carpe Diem Smile,
David Kuhn
CarpeDiem-Life.com
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