check out the above trailer or read about it below.....very inspiring!!
love, Michele
In The Simple Truths of Service Ken Blanchard and Barbara Glanz tell the story of Johnny the Bagger. Barbara gave a seminar on the power of words to bless other people. A month later she got a call from a 19-year old grocery store bagger named Johnny who had Downs Syndrome. He told her, "I liked what you talked about, but I didn't think I could do anything special for our customers, after all, I'm just a bagger." Then he proceeded to tell her about an idea that came to him.
Johnny explained that every night he would find a good thought that he could share with others. Then he and his dad sat down at the computer and entered the saying six times on a page. Then Johnny printed off 50 pages, cut off the 300 copies, and signed his name to every note. The next morning when Johnny went to work he put the stack of notes next to him while he bagged people's groceries. For each customer he put one note on the top of the last bag he filled and then he looked the person in the eye and said: "I put a great saying in your bag. I hope it helps you have a good day. Thanks for coming in."
The grocery store manager couldn't believe what happened in his store. The line at Johnny's checkout was three times longer than anybody else's! He tried to get people to move to a shorter line so they could get on their way, but they all said: "That's okay, we'll wait. We want to be in Johnny's line. We want to get his thought for the day!"
And Johnny's influence didn't stop there! Over the next couple of months others at the store started to follow Johnny's example. When the Floral Department had a broken flower or an unused corsage instead of throwing it away they found an elderly woman or a little girl and pinned it on her. The guys who worked on the shopping carts made sure that all the wheels on the carts really worked. Employees greeted customers with a smile and friendly words. The whole culture of the store became cheerful, considerate, and kind - like Johnny the Bagger.
Do you know who the most important person was in that grocery store? Johnny the Bagger. He's not the owner or the store manager. He isn't even a supervisor. He sure isn't making much money and he doesn't have a very high IQ. But he's the most important person in the whole store.
No comments:
Post a Comment