Embarrassed

I hesitated to post this because in the grand scheme of things it really is insignificant, but it is just one of those things that has been eating at me since Friday.

Our Department has just hired a new young professional to join our team. We all fell in love with her during the interview and just knew that she would fit perfectly into our work family. She is coming from the Kansas City area and is excited to come back to Iowa (her family lives just west of Des Moines). So, Friday morning she and her mother came in to apartment hunt and get familiar with the town. I had the opportunity to show them around and spend the day getting to know our new staff member. I was excited for this day. Until.....well, let me start by saying that this little town of ours was less than welcoming to our newcomer. I was embarrassed. Here I am trying to convince this young lady that she will love it here, the people are wonderful, it is safe, we have great amenities for a town this size, etc., etc.

First off, over the last couple of weeks she had a very difficult time getting apartment managers to call her back to make appointments. Obviously, they could care less that this young lady needs a place to live. Most of them had openings, but just chose not to call her back. Obviously not interested if they fill their buildings or not. Most are local managers with non-local owners. I guess their philosophy is, the less tenants, the less hassle they have to deal with. Then, a couple of the managers that we did speak with were just absolutely, downright rude. Not somewhere I would choose to live. But, I must commend the manager at Cobblestone Apts. He was so nice and understanding and accomodating, etc. Maybe some of the others should take lessons from him. (The lady at Forest Glen was also very nice.)

So, after a couple of appointments we headed to lunch. Ate at a local non-chain restaurant. Had the RUDEST waitress EVER. Again, I am embarrassed! At this point I ask myself, 'ok, do I attempt to explain to her that this really is not the way all people are in this town or do I let it go??' UGH.....not what I had anticipated this day to be.

So after lunch we had some time to kill before the next appointment. Made a couple of stops at various places that she may be frequenting once she arrives here and again, felt very brushed off. We had a couple of appointments in the afternoon and then stopped downtown to browse around a little and get coffee. Again, at the business where we stopped for coffee we were treated VERY rudely by the OWNER, nonetheless. So many times I hear the downtown business owners complaining that local people go out of town to shop, etc. Well, guess what? First impression can mean a lot to someone and I really doubt that this young lady will choose to frequent some of these businesses again. Really, it was very sad.

I so wanted to show our town off to her. I so wanted everyone to be welcoming to her. I so wanted her to be greeted with open arms and smiles. I wanted her to feel comfortable here. I wanted it to feel like home to her. I wanted her to leave knowing that she made the right decision to come here. I wanted her to be confident that she was going to be happy here. I wanted her mom to see what a great place her 23 year old daughter was going to be living in. I wanted her mom to know that her little girl was going to be taken care of. I don't know that any of those things happened. No, all these people we came in contact with didn't know that she was someone that was new to the area, but honestly it shouldn't matter. When you interact with a stranger you just never know what their story is.

And, I am sure that in my daily interactions with the public, at some point I have been rude or short with someone. I am sure that I have hurried transactions along and cut phone calls short so that I could get back to other things. And, I am sure that because of this day, that I will be more conscientious and attentive to everyone I deal with. I know that it won't always be perfect and that sometimes during the rush and the chaos of the day I will slip up, but I can promise I will try my best. Because, as with all the people you meet, you just never know what their story is.......