A Timeless Gift

I set a goal at the beginning of the year to try to figure out what “gifts” I have and how I can best use those gifts to serve others. So last week I wrote about being good at fixing things as a gift, but this week I’ve been super busy and haven’t had time to come up with any new ideas. And then it hit me, “time” is a gift we all wish we had more of. Maybe I can give someone else the gift of time!

It didn’t take long for the opportunity to present itself. On Tuesday, I went to the Post Office to buy stamps. As I walked in, I noticed a sign “Open 8am-4:00pm” and since it was 3:45, I was glad it was still open.  Inside there were two clerks waiting on people and only one person in line. However, there was also a lady who appeared to be working feverishly to get a box ready to ship. She kept glancing out the window, so I thought maybe she had a baby in the car or something. When she was done packing the box, I decided to step out of line and ask her if she would like to go ahead of me. She smiled and said, “Thank you so much”, and explained she parked in the red zone out front so she could keep an eye on her kids in the car and was worried about getting a ticket.

Both Clerk A and Clerk B finished up with their customers at the same time, so the next person in line stepped up to the counter. However, Clerk A stepped away and left my lady friend and I still standing in line. Clerk A then proceeded to go lock the door, apparently so he wouldn’t have to deal with any more customers. He then walked around the lobby area, picking up trash and re-sorting the counter displays, while completing ignoring the fact that there were still two customers in line. Clerk B kept working hard to provide good service to his customer, while the lady and I just kept wondering why Clerk A left us standing there. Eventually, Clerk A finished his “closing preparations” and went back to the counter. The lady in front of me was really stressed out now having stood there for at least an extra 10 minutes waiting for service.

Clerk A finally took care of the lady with the box. As I watched her dash out the door, I was glad I gave her a little bit of my “time”. Unfortunately, Clerk A took that “time” and more away from her.  I admit I was pretty ticked off about it. If any of my employees ever ignored a customer at our Will Call Counter just so they could hurry up closing the doors for the day, they would be closing the door on their day for good!

And that got me thinking… Time is one of the most precious commodities we have. So, if we can’t give or don’t want to give someone else our time… then at the very least, we shouldn’t steal any from them.

He who robs you of your time, steals your greatest treasure.

~ James L. Basford