Conversation Point

In This Moment

Customer Service Rating: God

Holiday shopping season officially starts the day after Thanksgiving. Traditionally called Black Friday, what for most of the country is a day to sleep late and socialize with visiting relatives and friends, is for retail workers the beginning of the countdown until close of business on Christmas Eve. Swarms of people come out to see what is available, enjoy the decorations and wistfully lament how fast time goes by. How can it be Christmas again already?

It's the retail rhythm of life, and stores are the official worship centers of this highly consumeristic season. As a precursor to this main event, an article flashed across my computer screen last week, indicating that disgruntled shoppers were taking charge and fighting back against poor customer service. I can only imagine what these irate and aggravated customers did to vent their frustration regarding being overcharged and underserved. But I also know what it feels like to stand behind the counter, exhausted, aiming to do everything I can to help, but what I have to offer is seen as not enough.

What customers who complain about poor customer service will not tell you is their whole side of the story. They won't tell you they have not ordered their merchandise early enough to be delivered before they need to be on the plane to their mom's house in another state. They won't tell you that they broke the pretty blue and white vase, the last one in stock, as they put it into their car. It was , you see, broken when they purchased it, and they want a refund. They also won't tell you how they held up the line behind them being unpleasant to a sales associate who was unable to locate their item in the back room because they had ordered a completely different product from another company.

What you will hear is the partial story. Although it is the truth, it is not the whole truth. The truth, the whole truth, is that many of us know we have put too much pressure on ourselves regarding shopping and entertaining, we have waited too long to be able to complete our tasks thoroughly, let alone joyfully, and so we become frustrated, blaming other people at hand for our poor choices. I have stood on this side of the counter too, and recognized the bitterness and enraged feelings that begin to rise inside me like music from a horror movie, as the hidden monster was about to strike.

Raising this issue now is a moment to remember all the times I realized, as I rang people up for ornaments, holiday serving pieces and collector nutcrackers, that blaming retailers for poor customer service is a lot like how we treat God when our prayers are not answered and things don't go our way. Prayers are very much like sales transactions. We place our order for the work, the relationship, the house, the vacation, the weather we want, move on to the next task, and assume God is at work on filling our order. when we realize that the order hasn't been filled to our specifications, we often become irritated, blame God and wonder why God is being mean to us, ignoring us, or not giving us what we want. What about that whole asking and receiving business in the bible? Doesn't that really work?
Our overabundance of material wealth in the United States has backfired on us in so many ways. We assume that if we want something, it must be available, and be available when we say so, even when we are dealing with God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth, Wonderful Counselor, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. God's abundance is always at our door, but not always at our disposal. God isn't about supporting our use it/toss it society, regarding material objects or human resources. God is also not about being dictated to according to the terms we set for how we think things should run.

In chapter forty, verse twenty-five, the prophet Isaiah asks us, on God's behalf, an important question: To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? Do we really want to be treating God as a purveyor of poor customer service in our lives? Do we really think God isn't treating us kindly or lovingly just to make our lives miserable? I do believe God has an interesting way of working with circumstances that doesn't usually enter my mind, except in retrospect. But I also believe that God has my best interests in mind, and is quite delighted to help whenever asked with an open mind and heart.

It's my heartfelt hope that as we stand on the threshold of another holiday season, that we can approach each other with open hearts and minds, remembering that, given the truth and a chance, most people will do their best for each other, simply because they can and they want to.

Until next time, God's blessings

posted by Cory L. Kemp @ 5:22 PM