I was at Publix today, and it was very busy, as always. After a few minutes waiting in line, it was my turn to check out, and as I came up to the cashier, I began my usual "hello, how are you?" but she cut me off and proceeded to tell me to "do whatever you're gonna do with your card." So, I put my card in the machine.
She had rushed through scanning my three items and had scanned something twice and had to remove it, so the transaction got messed up, and it was another minute or two before I'd successfully paid. I thought to myself how much faster she could've been if she'd just gone a little slower. And I certainly would've felt like I'd gotten better customer service, regardless of how much time it took.
I began to leave, and she began yelling at the next customer to hurry up and get to her register.
Honestly, I would have preferred to see a happy, pleasant, slow cashier after standing in line with a bunch of people trying to speed things along, but how many times have I been the one to focus on being fast and get things done rather than look up at the person (customer in this case) and remember not what I'm doing but for whom I am doing. I've touched on this before--Jesus wasn't trying to pack in as many healings and teachings as possible. I believe he recognized that if he was thorough in the relationship he built, his works would multiply through them. I think that's a pretty good strategy--not to rush or to get the "what" done, but to see the "who" and let that be enough.
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