Rejection 43: Hug a Walmart Greeter

Hugging a stranger as a random act of kindness isn't new, as you can see in the Free Hugs Campaign. However, I want to hug a Walmart greeter because on my 23rd day, I experienced how thankless their jobs are. I wanted to tell them I appreciate their work.

To my dismay, Walmart removed all greeters from their post. Fortunately, I was able to meet and carry out a very nice conversation with Michelle, who worked at customer service. Michelle not only showed her support to the greeters, but also accepted my hug. I left feeling better, even though I still felt bad for the greeters.

A business is composed of these groups of people: management, employees and customers (we are leaving suppliers and shareholders out of this conversation). With management making decisions for the business, whose voices are valued the most says a lot about the company's priorities. In the case removing greeters, I have received more than a few comments from both Walmart customers and employees disagreeing with this decision. I suspect their voices aren't being heard. Remember, the people whom you neglect will ultimately be the ones who reject you.

In some sense, that's why I am such a fan of Costco. In this fascinating documentary Costco Craze, we see that this retail giant always values customers and employees over anyone else, even at the cost of making profit. Now that's a philosophy I can get behind.

Learning: neglect is a form of rejection. When you neglect someone, don't be surprised to be rejected by them in the end.