Company Blog

Gimme Gimme some credit??

by Adam Zack — December 8, 2021

Wanting credit can go to extremes.

We meet some of the very nicest people in the world in the grocery business. For every one of the a-holes that complain about every little thing and make us question why we are even in this business, there are at least 10 that would qualify for instant sainthood. I have a customer at my store in San Diego who would go to the front of the line of potential saints, right in front of my wife’s sister Lorraine and my good friend Mary Cass. This customer, who wishes to remain anonymous (her name rhymes with ennifer) is not only our #1 customer in terms of dollars spent with us, she’s our #1 in terms of customer satisfaction, expressing appreciation to employees and smiles. You literally say “Can a person really be that nice??” So yesterday, she was in shopping and she gave my store manager an envelope with $500 cash in it to do “something nice for the employees” on the condition that we not tell any of them who gave the gift, only that it was from a happy customer. She wanted no credit at all for her kindness and generosity. When I got home last night and was telling my wife the story during our daily debriefing (which may or may not include some bourbon), we talked about how most people want some kind of credit for when good things happen. It’s human nature to want a pat on the back when you contribute to a success story, right? We talked about how wanting credit can go to extremes. I know someone whose wife always has to include herself in any good thing he says or does. What starts as a nice thing he says or does gets mentioned, she has to chime in that she was a part of it. I can’t tell if it’s a constant need for affirmation of just an ugly character trait. It is a reminder that humility is part of strong character and it’s the opposite of Saint Ennifer.